Surprising Royals Expected to Edge A’s
Crown Them: Oakland Athletics at Kansas City Royals Series Preview

While the bloom may be off the rose for the Oakland Athletics, losers of five in a row and 10 of 12, the Kansas City Royals — who won just 56 games last season — are still right behind the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the AL Central and continue to play good baseball. The Athletics vs Royals betting odds have the Royals as -205 moneyline favorites for Friday’s opener and are +110 at -1.5 runs on the run line. The total is 8.5 runs.
Kansas City is coming off a series loss to the Seattle Mariners but they, behind a strong rotation, are a formidable opponent for Oakland.
After climbing back to .500 at 17-17 two weeks ago on the strength of a six-game winning streak, the A’s have crashed down to earth. Most recently, they were swept in a four-game set by the Houston Astros, scoring just four runs all series.
An offense that relies heavily on home runs didn’t leave the yard once against Houston, highlighting how the A’s have trouble manufacturing runs when they aren’t hitting long balls. Those were some ugly baseball scores this week.
Kansas City also struggled to score this week in Seattle as the Royals were held to two runs apiece in losses on Monday and Wednesday. Offense generally hasn’t been an issue for the Royals but so much of their production comes from Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez, and Vinnie Pasquantino that if those guys aren’t hitting, Kansas City is in trouble.
The good news for Matt Quatraro is they’re usually either on base or driving in runners. Still, the Royals need the rest of the lineup to chip in.
Athletics vs Royals 
Records: Oakland Athletics (19-27) vs Kansas City Royals (26-19)
Day/Time:
Location: Kauffman Stadium; Kansas City, MO
Streaming: BSKC
Oakland’s Rotation Is In Dire Straits
Three-fifths of the A’s’ rotation is currently on the injured list so reliever Kyle Muller — who struggled as a starter last season — will slot into the rotation on Friday night in the MLB schedule today, to be followed by Ross Stripling and JP Sears.
Muller has been one of Oakland’s better arms out of the bullpen while Stripling has been giving up a ton of hits and Sears has been the A’s’ most reliable pitcher.
The Athletics vs Royals betting odds expect Kansas City to take advantage of Muller’s likely short start and a potential bullpen-ish game. Stripling is a solid veteran who has managed to keep his ERA below 5.00 despite surrendering 11.5 hits per nine innings, which just won’t fly for the long term even though the Royals are only 15th in batting average in baseball and 23rd in on-base percentage.
They can do some damage with a high-contact, low-strikeout guy in Stripling.
Sears also doesn’t strike many batters out and he gives up a decent amount of home runs, yet his lack of walks and hits allowed makes him able to do a good job of run prevention. In fact, all three of Oakland’s projected starters for this weekend are above-average strike-throwers so Kansas City will have to be aggressive and create its opportunities. Muller, Stripling, and Sears won’t just hand out free passes like other starters.
Runs Could Be At A Premium For A’s
The main reason why the Royals are having such a good season is the success of their starting rotation. Led by burgeoning ace Cole Ragans and supplemented by veterans Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha, as well as the breakouts from Brady Singer and Alec Marsh, Kansas City can toss out a solid starter most nights.
For this series, the Athletics vs Royals betting odds love how Ragans, Lugo, and Singer are projected to take the rubber. That’s great news for the Royals and for under bettors, and bad news for a slumping A’s lineup.
So, expect the Royals to get some good starts over the next few days. It also helps that Kansas City’s starters are 5th in the Majors in HR/9, which can allow them to neutralize Oakland’s offensive strength. The A’s are 21st in MLB in runs and 28th in batting average and on-base percentage, yet have hit the fourth-most home runs.
Add those statistics together and you get the possibility of another tough series for the A’s who are already hurting in the MLB rankings.
With Muller taking on Ragans on Friday, the Royals are a decent bet (at bad value) as -200 moneyline favorites. The smart play is to take them as +110 favorites on the runline because it would be worth your while from a value perspective. The Oakland Athletics standings have suffered enough over the past two weeks and they could be in for some more pain.
Also, consider going with the under 8.5 runs at -110. The Royals could post a crooked number against Muller and Co. but this bet would be more predicated on Ragans throwing a gem against an ice-cold lineup.
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