The Oakland Athletics are playing host to the Kansas City Royals at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. NBC Sports – California will be airing this AL matchup and the game gets going at 4:05 p.m. ET.
Kansas City Royals vs. Oakland Athletics Odds
Kansas City (+175) is entering this game as the underdog to Oakland (-185) and Vegas has set the Over/Under for this game at 8 runs (-115 for the over and -105 for the under). Bettors can also wager on the game’s spread with the most recent runline odds sitting at -125 for the Royals +1.5 runs and +105 for the Athletics -1.5.
The Athletics are 33-31 SU and 30-33 ATS. They’ve gained 1.7 units for bettors taking the moneyline while earning 4.4 units against the spread (ATS). Oakland has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the under has hit in three of those seven. The Royals, on the other hand, are 21-43 SU and have gone 30-33 ATS. Overall, the team’s lost 14.4 units for gamblers taking the moneyline and 8.8 units ATS. Kansas City is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the under has cashed in four of those seven.
Athletics games have an over/under record of 28-31-4 so far in 2018. The Royals have been a good under bet with a total record of 24-35-4.
Danny Duffy is getting the nod for the visiting Royals. The southpaw Duffy is 2-6 with a 5.81 ERA and 54 strikeouts. He has yet to face the Athletics this year and only made one start against them in 2017 (0-0, 7.20 ERA and eight strikeouts across five innings).
The Athletics will put the ball in the right hand of Trevor Cahill (1-2, 2.77 ERA, 0.99 WHIP), who has 47 strikeouts and 11 walks. Cahill is 0-0 with six strikeouts and a 7.71 ERA against Kansas City this year.
Oakland’s pitching staff has allowed 4.3 runs per game overall this season as a unit. The club’s starting pitching staff has an ERA of 4.16, a WHIP of 1.17 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 6.7. The bullpen has a 3.55 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 8.4 K/9.
The Oakland offense has put up 4.5 runs per contest, including 5.2 per game over its last 10 games and 4.4 per game over its last five. The team has a slash-line of .282/.328/.460 over its last five matchups and is 3-2 SU during that stretch.
The Athletics’ offense has been led by second baseman Jed Lowrie and shortstop Marcus Semien. Lowrie is slashing .289/.354/.474 with nine home runs, 42 RBIs and 25 runs scored, while Semien is hitting .263 with five homers, 25 RBIs and 38 runs scored.
In the visiting dugout, Kansas City’s pitchers have allowed 5.6 runs per game and its starters own a 5.35 ERA, 1.46 WHIP and 7.44 K/9. The bullpen has an ERA of 5.48, along with a K-per-9 of 7.11.
The Royals offense has slashed .251/.315/.383 on its way to 3.9 runs scored per game in 2018, including 3.1 runs per game over the team’s last 10 games and 2.4 per game over the team’s last five contests (0-5 SU).
Kansas City’s hitters have been led by left fielder Jon Jay and second baseman Whit Merrifield. Jay is hitting .307/.363/.374 with 73 hits, 18 RBIs and 28 runs scored, while Merrifield (.283/.361/.408) has produced 68 hits, 22 RBIs, 30 runs and 14 steals.
The Royals have lost 16.9 units and are 17-25 ATS when facing a right-handed starting pitcher this season. The over has cashed in 16 of those games, compared to 22 that’ve hit the under against righty starters. On the other hand, the Athletics have lost 3.9 units and are 10-11 ATS when facing a lefty starter. The over has cashed in eight of those games, compared to 11 that went under.
Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics Free MLB Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Athletics, ATS Winner – Royals, O/U – OVER
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Notes
Betting Trends
The Royals have hit nine home runs in their last 10 games. The Athletics have hit 15 over their last 10.
Kansas City has posted 18.3 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 contests and 15.2 over its last five.
The Royals have lost seven of their last eight games SU.
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