Oakland Athletics at Kansas City Royals Expert MLB Picks 8/26/2019
Monday, August 26, 2019
Kauffman Stadium
Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.
Probable Pitchers: Homer Bailey vs. Brad Keller
Whit Merrifield and the Kansas City Royals (45-85, 4th in AL Central) play the Oakland Athletics (74-54, 2nd in AL West) at Kauffman Stadium on Monday, August 26, 2019. The Athletics open this matchup at -150 while the Royals are coming in at +140. The O/U has been set at 10.
The Athletics have been lousy for Las Vegas oddsmakers, having gone 74-54-0 SU. Kansas City is covering 34.6% of the time, going 45-85-0 straight up.
Valuable Oakland Athletics Betting Trends
The Athletics have been a decent Under choice for over/under bettors, having gone 58-68-2.
The Athletics are covering 51.7% of the time as the away team, having gone 31-29-0 straight up.
Important Kansas City Royals Betting Trends
The Royals are covering 37.1% of the time at Kauffman Stadium, going 23-39-0 SU.
The Royals have been a decent Under choice for over/under bettors, having gone 61-63-6.
Key Oakland Athletics Injuries
8/22/2019 Sean Manaea SP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 3
8/17/2019 Ramon Laureano CF Lower Leg Expected to be out until at least Sep 4
5/15/2019 Daniel Gossett RP Elbow Out for the season
Key Kansas City Royals Injuries
8/24/2019 Cam Gallagher C Oblique Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
8/23/2019 Danny Duffy SP Hamstring Expected to be out until at least Aug 30
8/22/2019 Jake Newberry RP Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 3
8/20/2019 Jesse Hahn SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
8/16/2019 Trevor Oaks SP Hip Expected to be out until at least Aug 31
8/14/2019 Adalberto Mondesi SS Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Sep 1
3/11/2019 Salvador Perez C Elbow Out for the season
Useful Pitching Statistics
The Athletics have a 74-54 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Homer Bailey has a 11-8 record with an earned run average of 5.06 and a WHIP of 1.39 this season. He has 116 strikeouts over his 128 innings pitched and he's given up 131 hits. He's allowed 9.2 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 4.33. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.13 and they have given up 412 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .238 against the bullpen and they've struck out 448 hitters and walked 178 batters. As a team, Oakland allows 8.3 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.7 batters per nine innings. They are 6th in the league in team earned run average at 4.06. The Athletics pitchers collectively have given up 1,080 base hits and 526 earned runs. They have allowed 154 home runs this season, ranking them 27th in the league. Oakland as a pitching staff has walked 393 batters and struck out 997. They have walked 3 men per 9 innings while striking out 7.7 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.26 and their FIP as a unit is 4.37.
Related: Get MLB predictions on all of today's games
Hitting Statistics
As a team Oakland is hitting .247, good for 20th in the league. The Athletics hold a .444 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .322, which is good for 17th in baseball. They rank 18th in MLB with 8.4 hits per game. Marcus Semien is hitting .275 with an on-base percentage of .361. He has 143 hits this season in 520 at bats with 62 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .487 and an OPS+ of 127. Matt Chapman is hitting .260 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .344. He has totaled 122 hits and he has driven in 72 men in 470 at bats. His OPS+ is 130 while his slugging percentage is at .526. The Athletics have 1,089 hits, including 227 doubles and 202 home runs. Oakland has walked 436 times so far this season and they have struck out 1,039 times as a unit. They have left 839 men on base and have a team OPS of .766. They score 5.05 runs per contest and have scored a total of 651 runs this year.
Useful Pitching Statistics
Kansas City has a 45-85 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 3.95, Brad Keller has a 7-13 record and a 1.33 WHIP. He has 121 strikeouts over the 164 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 151 hits. He's allowing 8.3 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 4.32. The bullpen has an earned run average of 4.82 and they have given up 464 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .269 against the Royals bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 413 batters and walked 204 opposing hitters. As a team, Kansas City allows 9.5 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.8 batters per nine innings. They are 24th in the league in team earned run average at 5. The Royals pitchers as a team have surrendered 1,209 base knocks and 634 earned runs this season. They have given up 172 home runs this year, which ranks 17th in Major League Baseball. Kansas City as a staff has walked 461 hitters and struck out 996 batters. They give up a walk 3.6 times per 9 innings while they strike out 7.8 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.46 while their FIP as a staff is 4.82.
Hitting Statistics
As a team, they are batting .242, good for 26th in the league. The Royals hold a .395 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .305, which is good for 27th in baseball. They rank 26th in MLB with 8.2 hits per contest. Whit Merrifield comes into this matchup batting .299 with an OBP of .350. He has 163 hits this year along with 65 RBI in 545 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .475 with an OPS+ of 115. Hunter Dozier is hitting .284 this season and he has an OBP of .362. He has collected 113 hits in 398 at bats while driving in 70 runs. He has an OPS+ of 135 and a slugging percentage of .548. The Royals as a unit have 1,065 base hits, including 220 doubles and 128 homers. Kansas City has walked 366 times this year and they have struck out on 1,095 occasions. They have had 834 men left on base and have an OPS of .699. They have scored 4.19 runs per game and totaled 545 runs this season.
Who will win tonight's Athletics/Royals MLB game against the spread?
Josh's Pick: Take the Royals (+140)
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