The Royals squandered a pair of fine starting pitching performances on Saturday, losing both sides of a double header in the late innings. Singer will start for KC. His last two starts typify his season. He had probably his best performance against the Dodgers 2 starts ago, allowing just a run over 7 innings pitched, but followed up with a 6 run 5 inning appearance against the Guardians. With more poor starts than quality ones, you really don't know what you will get from him. Singer has struggled in the early innings and in day games. Whether he pitches well or poorly, the Royals pen is not dependable, allowing 7 runs from the 7th on in Saturday's double header. The Rays' pen allowed 0 runs in the same time frame on Saturday.
Zach Efflin starts for Tampa. The Rays signed Efflin long term this season, and it has certainly paid off. He has allowed just 2+ runs on average and 6+ innings per start in his last 5 starts. Efflin beat the Royals in June, allowing 3 runs over 6 innings, including a rare pair of HRs, the only ones he gave up in June. The Rays are tough on right-handers, and while the offense ran into some trouble before the break, they appear to be on the mend now. The Royals struggle at home, against right handers, and have been one of the very poorest offenses in baseball this year. Take the Rays to win on the run line again.