Kansas City Royals at Oakland Athletics Expert MLB Picks Against the Spread 9/18/2019

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Oakland Coliseum

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Danny Duffy vs. Homer Bailey

Whit Merrifield and the Kansas City Royals (56-95, 4th in AL Central) go to Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday where they'll meet the Oakland Athletics (90-61, 2nd in AL West). The odds on this game have the Royals coming in at +212 and the Athletics are at -230. The over/under has been set at 9.5.

The Royals have been a dicey choice for MLB wagerers, having gone 56-95-0 SU. Oakland is covering 59.6% of the time, going 90-61-0 straight up.

Valuable Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

The Royals have been a pretty good Over play for over/under bettors, having gone 77-68-6.

Kansas City is covering 36.0% of the time as the away team, having gone 27-48-0 straight up.

Important Oakland Athletics Betting Trends

The Athletics are covering 64.9% of the time at Oakland Coliseum, going 48-26-0 SU.

The Athletics have been a pretty good Over play for over/under bettors, having gone 69-79-3.

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

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

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Royals have a 56-95 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Danny Duffy has a 6-6 record with an earned run average of 4.55 and a WHIP of 1.36 this season. He has 104 strikeouts over his 118.2 innings pitched and he's given up 118 hits. He's allowed 8.9 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 4.92. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.09 and they have given up 563 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .272 against the bullpen and they've struck out 500 hitters and walked 245 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 1,428 base hits and 764 earned runs. They have allowed 204 home runs this season, ranking them 16th in the league. Kansas City as a pitching staff has walked 543 batters and struck out 1,152. 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 .246, good for 22nd in the league. The Royals hold a .401 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 .307 with an on-base percentage of .354. He has 195 hits this season in 635 at bats with 74 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .472 and an OPS+ of 115. Hunter Dozier is hitting .286 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .358. He has totaled 137 hits and he has driven in 82 men in 479 at bats. His OPS+ is 133 while his slugging percentage is at .543. The Royals have 1,259 hits, including 255 doubles and 156 home runs. Kansas City has walked 425 times so far this season and they have struck out 1,285 times as a unit. They have left 979 men on base and have a team OPS of .709. They score 4.25 runs per contest and have scored a total of 641 runs this year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Oakland has a 90-61 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 4.76, Homer Bailey has a 13-8 record and a 1.34 WHIP. He has 135 strikeouts over the 151.1 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 151 hits. He's allowing 9 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 4.35. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.04 and they have given up 478 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .233 against the Athletics bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 553 batters and walked 210 opposing hitters. As a team, Oakland allows 8.4 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 4.09. The Athletics pitchers as a team have surrendered 1,270 base knocks and 621 earned runs this season. They have given up 191 home runs this year, which ranks 23rd in Major League Baseball. Oakland as a staff has walked 456 hitters and struck out 1,200 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 .328, which is good for 10th in baseball. They rank 14th in MLB with 8.6 hits per contest. Marcus Semien comes into this matchup batting .284 with an OBP of .365. He has 175 hits this year along with 87 RBI in 617 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .519 with an OPS+ of 136. Matt Chapman is hitting .249 this season and he has an OBP of .341. He has collected 135 hits in 543 at bats while driving in 85 runs. He has an OPS+ of 127 and a slugging percentage of .512. The Athletics as a unit have 1,301 base hits, including 273 doubles and 245 homers. Oakland has walked 531 times this year and they have struck out on 1,240 occasions. They have had 992 men left on base and have an OPS of .781. They have scored 5.34 runs per game and totaled 806 runs this season.

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

Josh's Pick: Take the Royals (+212)

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