Friday, March 10, 2017

Surprise Stadium

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Probable Pitchers: Jharel Cotton vs. Jason Hammel

The Oakland Athletics visit Surprise Stadium on Friday, March 10, 2017 to play the Kansas City Royals in a Spring Training matchup. The probable starters are Jharel Cotton for the Athletics and Jason Hammel for the Royals.

The opening line for this matchup has Oakland at +105 and Kansas City at -125. The Athletics had a 72-84-6 over/under record and a 90-72-0 run line mark last season, meaning they covered 56% of the time. The Royals were 85-77-0 against the run line and had a 75-78-9 over/under record. They covered the spread 53% of the time.

The Athletics are coming off a 69-93 record in 2016, including 35-46 on the road. Starting pitcher Jharel Cotton had a 2-0 record with an earned run average of 2.15 and a WHIP of 0.82. He had 23 strikeouts over his 29.1 innings pitched and he gave up 20 hits last season. He allowed 6.1 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 3.76. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 4.01 and they gave up 522 base hits on the year. Teams hit .241 against the bullpen while being struck out 530 times and walking 193 times last season. As a team, Oakland allowed 9.16 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.46 batters per nine innings. They were 25th in the league in team earned run average at 4.51. The Athletics pitchers collectively gave up 1,459 base hits and 718 earned runs. They allowed 185 home runs last season and they allowed 1.2 homers per nine innings as a staff. Oakland as a pitching staff walked 464 batters and struck out 1,188. They walked 2.9 men per 9 innings while striking out 7.5 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.34 and their FIP as a unit was 4.24.

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As a team Oakland batted .246, good for 26th in the league while putting together a .255 average away from home. The Athletics held a .395 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .304 which was good for 28th in baseball. They ranked 25th in baseball with 8.35 hits per game. Jed Lowrie is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .263 with an on-base percentage of .314. He had 89 hits last season along with 30 runs scored and 27 runs batted in. He struck out 65 times and walked 26 times. Khris Davis hit .247 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .307. He totaled 137 hits while scoring 85 runs and he drove in 102. He walked 42 times and struck out on 166 occasions. The Athletics had 1,352 hits, including 270 doubles and 169 home runs. They stole 50 bases and were thrown out stealing 23 times. Oakland walked 442 times last season and they struck out 1,145 times as a unit. They left 1,036 men on base and had a team OPS of .699. They scored 4.03 runs per contest and scored a total of 653 runs last year.

Kansas City had a 47-34 home record and a 81-81 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 3.83, Jason Hammel had a 15-10 record and a 1.21 WHIP last season. He had 144 strikeouts over the 166.2 innings he pitched during which he gave up 148 hits. He allowed 8 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 4.48. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 3.45 and they gave up 505 base hits on the year. Teams hit .244 against the Royals bullpen while being struck out 509 times and walking 188 times last season. As a team, Kansas City allowed 8.96 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.04 batters per nine innings. They were 17th in the league in team earned run average at 4.21. The Royals pitchers as a team surrendered 1,433 base knocks and 674 earned runs last season. They gave up 206 home runs last year and they gave up 1.3 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Kansas City as a staff walked 517 hitters and struck out 1,287. They gave up a walk 3.2 times per 9 innings while they struck out 8 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.35 while their FIP as a staff was 4.42.

As a team, they batted .261, good for 7th in the league while putting together a .271 average at home. The Royals held a .400 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .312 which was good for 26th in baseball. They ranked 6th in baseball with 8.96 hits per contest. Alcides Escobar comes into this matchup after batting .261 with an OBP of .292. He had 166 hits last year along with 57 runs scored and 55 RBI. He struck out 96 times and walked on 27 occasions. Eric Hosmer hit .266 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .328. He collected 161 hits while scoring 80 runs and driving in 104. He earned a walk 57 times and punched out 132 times. The Royals as a unit had 1,450 base hits, including 264 doubles and 147 homers. They had 121 stolen bases and were thrown out 35 times. Kansas City as a team walked 382 times last year and they struck out 1,224 times. They had 1,049 men left on base and had an OPS of .712. They scored 4.17 runs per game and totaled 675 runs last season.

Oakland Athletics Betting Trends

The Oakland Athletics were 72-84-6 against the over/under last season

The Oakland Athletics were 90-72-0 against the run line last season

Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

The Kansas City Royals were 75-78-9 against the over/under last season

The Kansas City Royals were 85-77-0 against the run line last season

Injuries to Watch

Oakland Athletics

No key injuries to report

Kansas City Royals

No key injuries to report

Guy's Pick: Take the Athletics +105

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