Jesse Chavez (4-6, 2.90 ERA) and Jeremy Guthrie (5-5, 5.90 ERA) are on the hill in the last of a three-game series between the Oakland Athletics (34-43) and the Kansas City Royals (43-28) at O.C. Coliseum. The Royals won the last game 3-2 and Kansas City leads the series 2-0. Action begins at 4:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jun. 28 and can be seen on FSN-KC and CSN-CA.
Chavez is 0-0 with a 0.00 ERA in his appearances against the Royals, but goes up against a quality Kansas City offense which is batting .274 this season. Billy Burns (.322, 32 Rs, 2 HRs, 15 RBIs, 15 SBs) went 1 for 5 yesterday with one run. Guthrie is 4-5 with a 4.68 ERA against the Athletics in his career. He takes on a good Oakland offense that’s batting .258. Kendrys Morales (.292, 36 Rs, 9 HRs, 48 RBIs) has been successful at the plate, going 2 for 3 yesterday with two RBIs.
Oakland is a -153 favorite against Kansas City and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at eight runs. The Athletics have an overall money line of -1,536 and a record as the favorite of 22-25. The Athletics have seen an uptick in scoring as of late, averaging 6.1 runs during the last 10 games compared to their season average of 4.5 runs per game. Oakland’s batters do not strike out very often, with only 6.7 per game. Crossing over to the pitching staff, the Athletics are the fourth-best team in the AL at limiting walks during home games, allowing only 2.7 walks per game to their opponents this season.
In games where it is the underdog, Kansas City has a 18-13 record and an overall money line of +1,253. They played solid baseball as the underdog over their last 10 games with a 3-1 record, and a 7-3 record SU. Kansas City is excellent at not striking out with an AL-low 5.8 per game.
The Royals lead the season series, 4-1. The Athletics have a 30-29 record against right-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Guthrie takes the mound. Chavez (RHP) will be on the hill against the Royals, who have a very good 31-16 record against right-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – OAK, O/U – Over
Notes
For the eighth time this season, the Royals registered at least two errors in a game.
The Royals are 3-1 in games that go into extra innings. Meanwhile, the Athletics are 0-6 in such matchups.
The Royals managed to give up four walks in their last game. They’ll have to pick it up against the Athletics who are heading in with a 17-14 record against opponents who give up that many walks or more.
When they are outhit, the Royals are 2-23. The Athletics have a 5-29 record when opponents outhit them.
Kansas City ranks near the bottom of the league at 27th when it comes to home runs, hitting 54 this season. Oakland ranks in the bottom half at 16th with 65.
Oakland and Kansas City both rank in the top five of the league in hits. Oakland sits at fourth with 9.04 hits per game and Kansas City ranks second with 9.37.
Ranking 14th, Oakland is in the top half of the league for its on-base plus slugging percentage (.718). Kansas City ranks in the top 10 at ninth with an OPS of .732.
The Royals are 18-20 in games where they allow one or more home runs. The Athletics are 10-29 when they allow at least one homer.
