Runs may be hard to come by in this one as Scott Kazmir (4-4, 2.70 ERA) and the Oakland Athletics (34-42) meet Chris Young (6-3, 2.83 ERA) and the Kansas City Royals (42-28) in the second of a three-game series at O.C. Coliseum. The Royals won the last game 5-2 and Kansas City leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 4:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, Jun. 27 and will air on FSN-KC and CSN-CA.
Kazmir is 4-7 with a 4.91 ERA against the Royals in his career, and faces a strong Kansas City offense that’s hitting .275 on the year. Billy Burns (.322, 32 Rs, 2 HRs, 15 RBIs, 15 SBs) went 1 for 5 yesterday with one run. In his career against the Athletics, Young is 3-4 with a 3.72 ERA. He meets a solid Oakland offense that’s batting .260. Lorenzo Cain (.290, 42 Rs, 6 HRs, 33 RBIs, 14 SBs) went 1 for 4 yesterday with one run and one RBI.
Oakland is a -120 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is seven runs. When playing as the favorite, the Athletics have a 22-24 record and overall money line at -1,412. They are 5-2 as the favorite over their last 10 games. Oakland has averaged 6.8 runs per game over the last 10 games, higher than its season average of 4.5. Don’t expect the Oakland hitters to swing wildly. They average only 6.7 strikeouts per game. As for the pitching staff, the Athletics are fourth in the AL in walks allowed at home with just 2.7 per game.
Moving on to the away team, the Royals come into this game with a win percentage of .567 when playing as the underdog (17-13) and an overall money line of +1,139. Opposing pitchers have routinely struggled to strike out the Kansas City batters, who average an AL-low 5.8 strikeouts per game.
The Royals are 3-1 against the Athletics this season. The Athletics will take on a right-hander (Young) in this game and have a 30-28 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. The left-handed Kazmir will take the mound against the Royals, who have an 11-12 record against lefty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – OAK, O/U – Over
Notes
The Royals are 3-1 in games that go into extra innings. Meanwhile, the Athletics are 0-6 in such matchups.
The Royals are coming into this game after allowing one walk during their last outing. The Athletics have a 4-9 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Athletics are 25-10. The Royals have a 37-4 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 14th in runs, Kansas City has earned 308 this season. Oakland ranks third with 343 runs.
Ranking 30th, Kansas City is at the bottom of the league in walks, notching 148 this season. Oakland ranks in the top five at fourth with 240.
The Athletics are 22-20 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Royals are 28-12 when they hit at least one homer.
