On Monday, a series opener is on the schedule, with the Kansas City Royals (62-61) hosting the Texas Rangers (61-63) at 7:40 p.m. ET.
The Royals are favored at home (-130) against the Rangers (+110). The starting pitchers are Michael Wacha (7-9) for the Kansas City Royals, and Jack Leiter (7-6) for the Texas Rangers.
The Royals were vicotrious 6-2 over the White Sox Saturday in their last game. Mike Yastrzemski went 1 for 3 with a home run and an RBI to lead them offensively while Daniel Lynch was picked up the victory after throwing two innings without giving up an earned run on one hit.
Saturday, the Rangers lost to the Blue Jays 14-2. Patrick Corbin was the losing pitcher after he went 2 1/3 innings, giving up seven earned runs on eight hits while striking out two. Jake Burger led the Rangers’ offense, going 3 for 4 with two RBIs.
Before the Royals vs. Rangers matchup, here is everything you need to prepare for Monday’s baseball action, including viewing options.
Kansas City Royals vs. Texas Rangers odds, line and spread
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Sunday at 3:16 p.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
Favorite: Royals (-130, bet $130 to win $100)Underdog: Rangers (+110, bet $100 to win $110)Over/under: 9Royals vs. Rangers: Game time and live stream infoGame day: Monday, August 18, 2025Game time: 7:40 p.m. ETLocation: Kansas City, MissouriStadium: Kauffman StadiumTV channel: FDSKC and RSNLive stream: Watch LIVE with Fubo! (Regional restrictions may apply)
Watch Royals vs. Rangers on Fubo!
Royals stats and trendsRoyals betting recordsThis season, the Royals have been favored 50 times and won 29, or 58%, of those games.Kansas City is 17-13 this season when entering a game favored by -130 or more on the moneyline.Oddsmakers have implied with the moneyline set for this matchup that the Royals have a 56.5% chance to win.Games involving Kansas City have gone over the total set by bookmakers in 53 of 123 chances this season.The Royals have an ATS record of 65-58-0 in 123 games with a spread this season.Michael Wacha (Royals probable starter)Wacha (7-9 with a 3.35 ERA and 101 strikeouts in 137 2/3 innings pitched) makes the start for the Royals, his 25th of the season.His last time out was on Tuesday against the Washington Nationals, when the righty threw 5 2/3 innings, surrendering two earned runs while allowing five hits.In 24 games this season, the 34-year-old has amassed a 3.35 ERA and 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings, while allowing a batting average of .235 to opposing hitters.Wacha has registered 11 quality starts this year.Wacha will look to go five or more innings for his seventh straight appearance. He’s averaging 5.7 frames per outing.He has held his opponents without an earned run in three of his 24 outings this season.The opposing Rangers offense has the 26th-ranked slugging percentage (.375) and is 20th in MLB play with 128 home runs. It has a collective .231 batting average, and is 25th in MLB with 958 total hits and 24th in MLB play scoring 502 runs.In six innings over one appearance against the Rangers this season, Wacha has a 1.50 ERA and a 0.667 WHIP while his opponents are hitting .095.The 34-year-old ranks 22nd in ERA (3.35), 21st in WHIP (1.153), and 49th in K/9 (6.6) among qualifying pitchers in MLB action this season.Royals batting statsThe Royals’ 111 home runs rank 28th in MLB this season.Fueled by 349 extra-base hits, Kansas City ranks 22nd in MLB with a .389 slugging percentage this season.The Royals have a team batting average of .246 this season, which ranks 17th among MLB teams.Kansas City has scored 465 runs (just 3.8 per game) this season, which ranks 27th in MLB.The Royals have an OBP of .305 this season, which ranks 23rd in MLB.Kansas City is one of the most-disciplined teams at the plate this season, ranking second with an average of 6.9 strikeouts per game.Rangers stats and trendsRangers betting recordsThe Rangers have been victorious in 21, or 34.4%, of the 61 contests they have been chosen as underdogs in this season.Texas has a mark of 6-24 in contests where sportsbooks favor it by +110 or worse on the moneyline.The moneyline set for this matchup implies the Rangers have a 47.6% chance of walking away with the win.Texas’ games have gone over the total in 53 of its 124 opportunities.The Rangers are 65-59-0 against the spread in their 124 games with a line set by sportsbooks this season.Jack Leiter (Rangers probable starter)Leiter (7-6) takes the mound first for the Rangers in his 22nd start of the season. He’s put together a 3.94 ERA in 105 2/3 innings pitched, with 96 strikeouts.The right-hander’s most recent time out came on Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, when he threw five innings, surrendering one earned run while giving up four hits.In 21 games this season, the 25-year-old has an ERA of 3.94, with 8.2 strikeouts per nine innings. Opponents are batting .220 against him.Leiter has recorded five quality starts this season.Leiter has put up 14 starts this campaign that he pitched five or more innings.He has held his opponents without an earned run in two of his 21 outings this season.He meets a Royals offense that ranks 27th in the league with 465 total runs scored while batting .246 as a squad. His opponent has a collective .389 slugging percentage (22nd in MLB action) and has hit a total of 111 home runs (28th in the league).Leiter has a 9.53 ERA and a 1.765 WHIP against the Royals this season in 5 2/3 innings pitched, allowing a .320 batting average over one appearance.Rangers batting statsThe Rangers are 20th in baseball with 128 home runs. They average 1.0 per game.This season, Texas’ .375 slugging percentage is the fifth-lowest percentage in the majors.The Rangers are 27th in the majors with a .231 batting average.Averaging 4.0 runs per game (502 total), Texas is the 24th-highest scoring team in the majors.The Rangers rank 27th in baseball with a .300 on-base percentage.