Royals vs. Rangers: Picks, predictions, how to watch Thursday’s game

The Kansas City Royals and Texas Rangers square off on Thursday with first pitch set for 8:05 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas, and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. Jon Heasley will make his season debut on the mound for the Royals tonight and will battle Taylor Hearn (1-2, 6.53 ERA) of the Rangers.

Kansas City (10-18) prevailed 8-2 in yesterday’s game at Globe Life Park, officially making tonight’s series finale a rubber match. Third baseman Bobby Witt Jr. got a pair of RBI off a double in the top of the fifth, putting the team up 3-0. As the K.C. batters continued to tack onto their lead, their relievers held the line and limited the Rangers to just two runs down the stretch.

Texas (12-17) is trying to avoid falling into the basement of the AL West even though its been playing well as of late by winning six of its last 10 games. The Rangers have generally taken advantage of good pitching performances from their starters as all six of those aforementioned victories came in games where they held their opponent to four runs or less.

Royals vs. Rangers

Pitchers: Jon Heasley vs. Taylor Hearn
First pitch: 8:05 p.m. ET
Royals local broadcast: Bally Sports Kansas City
Rangers local broadcast: Bally Sports Southwest
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)
Moneyline odds: Rangers -140, Royals +120

Picks & predictions

Moneyline pick: Royals +120

There’s always a wild card factor with pitcher making his season debut and both teams will soon see what Heasley has to offer tonight. The game will be determined by how well Hearn holds up as he’s given up 20 hits and 14 earned runs over his last four starts. Expect the Royals to light him up early and grab the victory tonight.

Player prop pick: Andrew Benintendi over 1.5 hits (+195)

Benintendi has hit a bit of a skid this week, going 1-16 through his last four games. The Royals outfielder is still batting .314 for the year so he’s bound to bounce back soon. We’ll say he gets multiple base knocks tonight at Globe Life Field.

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