The Tampa Bay Rays and Kansas City Royals will conclude their three-game series Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. With that said, it’s a good time to check out our MLB odds series, which includes our Rays-Royals prediction and pick we have laid out below.

Tampa Bay has been on a torrid pace, winning seven of 10 to vault into second place in the loaded AL East. Tampa Bay currently leads the AL Wild Card race with a 52-42 record.

Kansas City is toughing out another brutal season, sitting at 37-57 and fighting with Detroit for the cellar in the AL Central. With the trade deadline approaching, Kansas City will look a lot different in a few weeks.

Here are the Rays-Royals MLB odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Rays-Royals Odds

Tampa Bay Rays: -1.5 (+104)

Kansas City Royals: +1.5 (-125)

Over: 8.5 (-115)

Under: 8.5 (-105)

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Why The Rays Could Cover The Spread

Tampa Bay is rounding into form recently, and that should alarm the rest of baseball. As a team, Tampa Bay owns a 3.40 ERA, fourth-best in the league. As usual, Tampa Bay has used myriad pitchers, moving them to different roles, all with success mostly. Tampa Bay has long taken pitchers from the outskirts of other rosters and turned them into reliable help.

Jeffrey Springs, Sunday's starter, is another on the long list of under-the-radar Tampa Bay performers. Springs had an ERA north of 5 in 84.2 innings before joining the Rays in 2021 and was a solid contributor out of the bullpen that season. 2022 has been a revelation for Springs, as he owns a 3.02 ERA as a starter and a 2.53 ERA overall. Springs' nasty repertoire has forced opponents to swing constantly, registering a 96th percentile chase rate at 35.3%. Tampa Bay's 3.44 bullpen ERA is ninth in baseball, highlighted by Jason Adam and his 1.41 ERA in 38.1 innings.

Tampa Bay's middling offense is supplemented by the eighth-most doubles, 166, in the league. Harold Ramirez, another scrapheap pickup, is slashing .329/.379/.446 with 16 doubles in his 240 at-bats. Despite 95 strikeouts, Randy Arozarena has smashed 12 home runs, second-best on the team behind Isaac Paredes' 13. Yandy Diaz, who owns a .292 batting average, has walked at an impressive 15% clip, running up opposing pitch counts. Coupled with Kris Bubic's elevated 11% walk rate, Tampa Bay should have tons of traffic on the basepaths.

Why The Royals Could Cover The Spread

2022 has been a rough year for Kansas City. A 37-57 record finds them in last place in the AL Central, and vaccine controversies may limit their trading partners at the deadline. Opponents have outscored Kansas City by 111 runs. Still, this is baseball, and even the bad teams win games. Bobby Witt has overcome a slow start to mash 14 home runs across 90 games, and he has hit .256 to begin his career. Andrew Benintendi, a popular trade target, is slashing an impressive .318/.389/.400, albeit with little power, as just 19 of his 105 hits have gone for extra bases. Rookie first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino has gotten off to a slow start, but he has managed three home runs in 79 at-bats.

Kris Bubic is not enjoying his finest season thus far, with a 5.87 ERA and only 61.1 innings in his 15 appearances (14 starts). Kansas City's pitching staff checks in with the fourth-worst ERA in the league at 4.78. Dylan Coleman is a bright young spot in the bullpen, with a 3.05 ERA in 39 appearances, while closer Scott Barlow has been magnificent, converting 16 of his 18 save opportunities to the tune of a 1.97 ERA.

Final Rays-Royals Prediction & Pick

Hard to see this one going in favor of Kansas City, so go with Tampa Bay.

Final Rays-Royals Prediction & Pick: Tampa Bay – 1.5 (+104), over 8.5 (-115)