It’s Monday, August 18 and the Rangers (62-63) are in Kansas City to take on the Royals (63-61). Jack Leiter is slated to take the mound for Texas against Michael Wacha for Kansas City.
As the Royals and Rangers meet, Texas is looking to get its revenge after being swept by Kansas City earlier in the season.
Kansas City enters on a three-game winning streak and is 5-1 over the last six games, while Texas is 1-4 over the past five outings. The Rangers are coming off a 10-4 win over the Blue Jays that back-to-back series of being swept. The Royals are coming off a sweep of the White Sox in three games.
Let’s dive into the matchup and find a sweat or two. We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch first pitch, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.
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Game details & how to watch Rangers at Royals
- Date: Monday, August 18, 2025
- Time: 7:40PM EST
- Site: Kauffman Stadium
- City: Kansas City, MO
- Network/Streaming: RSN, FDSNKC
Never miss a second of the action and stay up-to-date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day MLB schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game with every out.
Odds for the Rangers at the Royals
The latest odds as of Monday:
- Moneyline: Rangers (+109), Royals (-130)
- Spread: Royals -1.5
- Total: 9.0 runs
Probable starting pitchers for Rangers at Royals
- Pitching matchup for August 18, 2025: Jack Leiter vs. Michael Wacha
- Rangers: Jack Leiter, (7-6, 3.94 ERA)
Last outing: 1.80 ERA, 1 Earned Runs Allowed, 4 Hits Allowed, 2 Walks, and 3 Strikeouts - Royals: Michael Wacha, (7-9, 3.35 ERA)
Last outing: 3.18 ERA, 2 Earned Runs Allowed, 5 Hits Allowed, 2 Walks, and 3 Strikeouts
- Rangers: Jack Leiter, (7-6, 3.94 ERA)
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Expert picks & predictions for tonight’s game between the Rangers and the Royals
Rotoworld Best Bet
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Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the MLB calendar based on data points like past performance, player matchups, ballpark information and weather forecasts.
Once the model is finished running, we put its projection next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.
Here are the best bets our model is projecting for Monday’s game between the Rangers and the Royals:
- Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Kansas City Royals on the Moneyline.
- Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Texas Rangers at +1.5.
- Total: NBC Sports Bet is staying away from a play on the Game Total of 9.0.
Want even more MLB best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert MLB Predictions page from NBC.
Top betting trends & insights to know ahead of Rangers at Royals
- Kansas City is 3-0 versus Texas this season
- The Rangers are 1-4 in the last 5 games
- The Royals are 0-3 in the last 3 games and 5-1 in the past 6
- The Royals have a winning record (4-1) in their last 5 games
- 5 of the Rangers’ last 6 games (83%) have gone over the Total
- The Royals are up 3.80 units on the Run Line in their last 5 games at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium
If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our MLB Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!
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- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)
- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)
- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)
- Trysta Krick (@Trysta_Krick)
