Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics Expert MLB Picks Against the Spread 9/17/2019

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Oakland Coliseum

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Jorge Lopez vs. Brett Anderson

Oakland Coliseum is the site where Marcus Semien and the Oakland Athletics (90-60, 2nd in AL West) will play the Kansas City Royals (55-95, 4th in AL Central) on Tuesday. The Athletics open this contest at -280 while the Royals are coming in at +255. The O/U has been set at 9.5.

The Royals have been hot and cold for bettors, having gone 55-95-0 SU. Oakland is covering 60.0% of the time, going 90-60-0 straight up.

Valuable Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

The Royals have been a solid Over play for O/U MLB bettors, having gone 76-68-6.

The Royals are covering 35.1% of the time away from home, having gone 26-48-0 straight up.

Important Oakland Athletics Betting Trends

Oakland is covering 65.8% of the time at Oakland Coliseum, going 48-25-0 SU.

The Athletics have been a solid Over play for O/U MLB bettors, having gone 68-79-3.

Related: Gambling 101 - MLB Betting Tips - Tony George of Doc's Sports

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

9/12/2019 Kelvin Gutierrez 3B Toe Out for the season
8/31/2019 Trevor Oaks SP Hip Expected to be out until at least Sep 20
8/29/2019 Brad Keller SP Rest Out for the season
3/11/2019 Salvador Perez C Elbow Out for the season

Key Oakland Athletics Injuries

9/15/2019 Mike Fiers SP Arm Expected to be out until at least Sep 21
9/15/2019 Joakim Soria RP Elbow Probable for Sep 16
9/9/2019 Luis Barrera LF Shoulder Out for the season
9/4/2019 Stephen Piscotty RF Ankle Expected to be out until at least Sep 22
5/15/2019 Daniel Gossett RP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Royals have a 55-95 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Jorge Lopez has a 4-7 record with an earned run average of 6.09 and a WHIP of 1.48 this season. He has 102 strikeouts over his 109.1 innings pitched and he's given up 122 hits. He's allowed 10 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 5.17. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.12 and they have given up 559 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .272 against the bullpen and they've struck out 495 hitters and walked 244 batters. As a team, Kansas City allows 9.7 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.8 batters per nine innings. They are 25th in the league in team earned run average at 5.17. The Royals pitchers collectively have given up 1,418 base hits and 759 earned runs. They have allowed 203 home runs this season, ranking them 16th in the league. Kansas City as a pitching staff has walked 539 batters and struck out 1,146. They have walked 3.7 men per 9 innings while striking out 7.8 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.48 and their FIP as a unit is 4.88.

Related: Get MLB tips & picks on all of today's games

Hitting Statistics

As a team Kansas City is hitting .245, good for 23rd in the league. The Royals hold a .400 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .308, which is good for 26th in baseball. They rank 23rd in MLB with 8.3 hits per game. Whit Merrifield is hitting .306 with an on-base percentage of .353. He has 193 hits this season in 630 at bats with 74 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .473 and an OPS+ of 115. Hunter Dozier is hitting .287 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .360. He has totaled 136 hits and he has driven in 82 men in 474 at bats. His OPS+ is 133 while his slugging percentage is at .544. The Royals have 1,248 hits, including 252 doubles and 154 home runs. Kansas City has walked 423 times so far this season and they have struck out 1,270 times as a unit. They have left 972 men on base and have a team OPS of .707. They score 4.23 runs per contest and have scored a total of 635 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Oakland has a 90-60 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 4.07, Brett Anderson has a 12-9 record and a 1.33 WHIP. He has 85 strikeouts over the 166 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 173 hits. He's allowing 9.4 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 4.7. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.06 and they have given up 474 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .233 against the Athletics bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 546 batters and walked 209 opposing hitters. As a team, Oakland allows 8.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.9 batters per nine innings. They are 7th in the league in team earned run average at 4.08. The Athletics pitchers as a team have surrendered 1,259 base knocks and 616 earned runs this season. They have given up 189 home runs this year, which ranks 23rd in Major League Baseball. Oakland as a staff has walked 454 hitters and struck out 1,185 batters. They give up a walk 3 times per 9 innings while they strike out 7.9 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.26 while their FIP as a staff is 4.42.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they are batting .250, good for 16th in the league. The Athletics hold a .453 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .327, which is good for 13th in baseball. They rank 14th in MLB with 8.6 hits per contest. Marcus Semien comes into this matchup batting .281 with an OBP of .364. He has 172 hits this year along with 85 RBI in 612 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .513 with an OPS+ of 135. Matt Chapman is hitting .251 this season and he has an OBP of .344. He has collected 135 hits in 538 at bats while driving in 85 runs. He has an OPS+ of 129 and a slugging percentage of .517. The Athletics as a unit have 1,291 base hits, including 270 doubles and 244 homers. Oakland has walked 527 times this year and they have struck out on 1,234 occasions. They have had 984 men left on base and have an OPS of .781. They have scored 5.34 runs per game and totaled 801 runs this season.

Who will win tonight's Royals/Athletics MLB game against the spread?

Josh's Pick: Take the Royals (+255)

Get $60 worth of FREE premium member picks. No Obligation. No Salesman. No Credit Card. Fast Sign up with Instant Access Click Here

Read more articles by Josh Schonwald