Oakland Athletics vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 9/16/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Oakland Athletics vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Thursday, September 16, 2021

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: Bally Sports Kansas City

Odds/Point Spread: Oakland (-192) Kansas City (+145)

Kauffman Stadium is the venue where Carlos Hernandez and the Kansas City Royals (66-78, 4th in AL Central) will take on the Oakland Athletics (77-67, 3rd in AL West) on Thursday. The Athletics open this matchup at -192 while the Royals are coming in at +145. The over/under is set at 8.5. The pitchers who are expected to start are Paul Blackburn and Carlos Hernandez.

As a team, the Oakland Athletics are scoring 4.6 runs per contest, which ranks them 12th in the league. They have racked up 657 runs while holding a team OBP of .316. The Athletics have tallied 247 doubles as a unit and have smacked 179 balls out of the stadium. They have 617 runs batted in as well as 1,138 hits so far this season, while their batting average is at .238. Oakland is slugging .409 and have been rung up 1,204 times, while drawing a walk on 478 occasions.

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The Athletics have a team ERA of 3.96 this year (12th in baseball), and the staff has struck out 1,188 hitters. They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 3.06 and the pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.25. Athletics pitchers have given up 166 long balls and 599 runs in total (9th in MLB). They have walked 388 players from the other team and their FIP comes in at 4.03 as a unit on the campaign.

The Athletics have dispatched 444 relief pitchers to the hill on the campaign. The relief pitchers have inherited 158 base runners on the season and 36.7% of those runners ended up scoring. They have compiled 35 saves this season and have blown 26 of 61 chances to save the game. The Athletics relievers have a save rate of 57.4% and stepped onto the hill in 122 save situations. The bullpen are sitting with 61 holds for the season (26th in the league). Athletics pitchers have gone to the mound with opponents on base 108 times and also have had 126 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Oakland Athletics have notched a total of 3,824 putouts at this point in the season, in addition to 1,163 assists and 61 errors. Their fielding percentage is currently at .988 which ranks 2nd in pro baseball, and they have turned 977 double plays. The Athletics have turned 70.0% of balls in play into outs out of 11,472 innings on the field, which has them sitting at 9th in the majors.

Blackburn has taken the hill for 122 innings and has totaled 66 K's so far in his MLB career. His earned run average is 5.61 (76 ER's allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.459. He has conceded 145 hits (10.7 hits per 9 innings) and has 33 walks. Blackburn (5-9 career record) sits with a FIP of 4.51 and he has faced 528 opposing hitters in the majors.

The Royals hold a slugging percentage of .393 and they average 4.24 runs per contest (23rd in the league). They have hit 211 two-baggers, while taking a walk 374 times as well as recording 611 runs. Kansas City has accounted for 151 home runs over the course of the season as well as 577 runs batted in. They have been rung up on 1,140 occasions (28th in the league) and have totaled 1,188 base knocks. The Kansas City Royals have earned an on-base percentage of .304 as well as a team batting average of .246 over the course of the season.

The Royals have a WHIP of 1.391 and have a FIP of 4.40 as a staff for the season. They are sitting at 19th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits relinquished with 1,217. The Kansas City pitching staff have allowed 700 runs this season while holding a team ERA of 4.66 (654 earned runs yielded). Their K/BB ratio sits at 2.29 (1,231 strikeouts against 538 free passes). They have allowed 174 home runs and they allow 4.99 runs per 9 innings (21st in the league).

With 133 save situations, the Royals have accumulated 75 holds in addition to 22 blown saves. Kansas City has had bullpen pitchers step onto the mound in 56 save opportunities and they have come away with 34 saves. Their relievers have taken the field 147 times in high leverage situations and on 140 occasions with runners on base. Kansas City relievers hold an inherited score rate of 30.6% out of 216 inherited base runners. They rank 17th in the league with a save percentage of 60.7%, and they have sent 491 relievers to the hill so far this year.

The Kansas City Royals have twisted 128 double plays and have notched a fielding percentage of .985 (13th in MLB). The Royals have accrued 1,239 assists, 75 errors and have earned 3,787 putouts on the season. In 11,361 innings played, the Royals have accumulated a defensive efficiency of 68.5% (27th in professional baseball).

In his MLB career, Hernandez has given up 77 hits while accumulating 83 K's in 91 frames. He has surrendered a total of 36 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.281 and a FIP of 4.2. His strikeout to walk ratio is 2.08 and he has faced 381 opposing hitters in his career. Hernandez (6-2 career mark) has a 3.55 ERA and has surrendered 7.6 hits per nine innings.

Who will win tonight's baseball game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Oakland (-192)

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