Royals vs. Athletics Pick
Will the Kansas City Royals be able to pick up a needed road win over the Oakland Athletics when the two meet tonight at 10:05PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, Kansas City is favored on the road as the Royals are getting odds of -120 to win, while the Athletics are getting odds of +100 to win. The over/under total for the game has been set at 9 runs.
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The pitching matchup today has Jason Hammel (5-9, 4.68 ERA) on the mound for the Royals to face Chris Smith (0-2, 5.29) of the Athletics. Hammel has allowed multiple runs in his last four starts. He comes into this game with 103 strikeouts and 38 walks, along with a 1.35 WHIP. Smith has struggled in his six appearances, allowing 20 earned runs over 34 innings. He has 19 strikeouts with 12 walks and a 1.35 WHIP.
These two opened their series on Monday night with Kansas City picking up a 6-2 victory. These two have split their four meetings this season. Kansas City is now 60-58 on the season and 28-31 on the road. Oakland is 52-67 overall and 33-30 at home.
Jake Junis pitched six innings, allowing two runs, to lead the Royals to the win on Monday night. Jharel Cotton allowed six runs in six innings to take his 10th loss of the year for Oakland. Cam Gallagher had two hits and his first home run to lead the Royals. He finished the game with four RBI. Alcides Escobar added two hits and two runs for KC. Oakland was led by Marcus Semien, who had a pair of hits and scored a run.
The Royals need to win these games if they are going to make an honest playoff push. Hammel hasn’t been great on the mound, but Smith has been worse. He hasn’t had an outing to hang his hat on yet and I think Kansas City will be able to pile up more runs than usual tonight. That should be enough for Hammel.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: KANSAS CITY ROYALS -120