The Oakland Athletics are playing host to the Kansas City Royals at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The game gets underway 4:05 p.m. ET and NBC Sports – California will be televising this AL matchup.
Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics Odds
Oakland (-185) is favored over Kansas City (+175) and Vegas has put the Over/Under for this day game at 8 runs (-115 for the over and -105 for the under). Bettors can also wager on the games runline with the odds standing at Royals +1.5 runs (-125) and Athletics -1.5 runs (+105).
The Royals have gone 21-43 SU this year and are 30-33 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 14.4 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 8.8 units ATS. Kansas City is 3-4 ATS over its last seven games and the total has gone under in four of those seven. The Athletics, on the other hand, are 33-31 SU and 30-33 ATS. The teams gained 1.7 units for moneyline bettors while earning 4.4 units ATS. Oakland has covered the spread four times in its last seven games and the under has hit in three 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 start 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 over five innings).
The Athletics are sending righty Trevor Cahill (1-2, 2.77 ERA) to the mound. Cahill has 47 strikeouts and 11 walks to his name, as well as a WHIP of 0.99. Cahill is 0-0 with six strikeouts and a 7.71 ERA against Kansas City this year.
Oakland’s pitchers have allowed 4.3 runs per game overall this year as a unit. Its 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 is putting up 4.5 runs per outing, 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 contests and is 3-2 SU during that span.
The Athletics batters have been led by second baseman Jed Lowrie and shortstop Marcus Semien. Lowrie is hitting .289/.354/.474 with nine home runs, 42 RBIs and 25 runs scored, while Semien is batting .263 with five homers, 25 RBIs and 38 runs scored.
In the other 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/9 of 7.11.
Royals hitters have slashed .251/.315/.383 on their way to 3.9 runs scored per game this year, including 3.1 runs per game over the teams last 10 games and 2.4 per game over the teams last five contests (0-5 SU).
Left fielder Jon Jay and second baseman Whit Merrifield continue to lead Kansas City’s hitters. Jay is slashing .307/.363/.374 with 73 hits, 18 RBIs and 28 runs scored, while Merrifield is hitting .283/.361/.408 with 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 gone 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 hit in eight of those games, compared to 11 that went under the total.
Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics Free MLB Tip
Predictions: SU Winner – Athletics, ATS Winner – Royals, O/U – OVER
Betting Notes
- The Royals have hit nine home runs in their last 10 games. The Athletics have hit 15 over their last 10.
- Kansas City has averaged 18.3 runs + hits + errors over its last 10 contests and 15.2 over its last five.
- The Royals have lost seven of their last eight games SU.
