The Kansas City Royals (41-28) moved three and a half games clear at the top of the AL Central standings with an emphatic victory over the Seattle Mariners Wednesday night. The Royals will look to stretch that advantage even further when they take on the surging Oakland Athletics (34-41) in their series opener tonight.
Who will emerge victorious in this American League matchup? Read on below for a breakdown of clash and while you’re at it you can check out our piece on the leading candidates for the 2015 NL MVP plum.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Kansas City Royals vs. Oakland Athletics Preview
Where: O.co Coliseum, Oakland, California
When: Friday, June 26, 10:05 PM ET
Line: Kansas City Royals (+119) at Oakland Athletics (-129); total: 7.0 – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City Royals returned to winning ways Wednesday with a resounding 8-2 victory against the Seattle Mariners. Mike Moustakas hit a two-run homer and Omar Infante had a three-run double to highlight the Royals’ mammoth seven-run fourth inning. Kansas City delivered 13 hits, the 17th time this season they’ve had that many or more in a game.
[sc:MLB240banner ]The Royals will look to sustain the momentum of that huge win when they take on the streaking Oakland A’s tonight. Starting for Kansas City this evening is Edinson Volquez (7-4, 3.33 ERA). He allowed four runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings of action in Kansas City’s 7-4 win against the Boston Red Sox on June 20. He is 3-0 with a 3.63 ERA in his last three outings.
The Royals will fancy their chances of grabbing the series opener tonight as they have fared extremely well against the A’s of late. The Royals have won eight of their last 11 meetings with the A’s since the start of 2014. That includes their memorable AL Wild Card Game victory against Oakland last September.
Expected to lead the Kansas City offense tonight are Mike Moustakas and Alcides Escobar. Moustakas is hitting .389 with 10 RBIs in a nine-game hitting streak while Escobar is batting .439 with eight runs scored in his last 10 outings.
The Royals are 7-3 in their last 10 road games.
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Betting on the Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics extended their winning streak to five games with a 6-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Thursday. The A’s will look to stretch their unbeaten run tonight when they take on the red-hot Kansas City Royals in the opening game of their three-game set.
Starting for the A’s tonight is right-hander Jesse Hahn (5-5, 3.40 ERA). Hahn picked up his fifth victory of the season Saturday, allowing just one run on four hits and four walks over 7.2 innings while striking out four in Oakland’s 4-1 win against the Los Angeles Angels. The A’s have won five of their last six games with Hahn as their starter. Hahn has allowed one run or less in four of those five victories.
The A’s lone win in their previous series against the Royals came courtesy of Hahn who pitched 5.1 innings of three-hit ball in a 5-0 victory on April 18. Hahn will fancy his chances of duplicating that feat later tonight as he has played some excellent baseball of late. He is 3-0 with a 2.52 ERA in his last four starts.
Expected to lead the A’s offense tonight against the Royals are Stephen Vogt and rookie Billy Burns. Vogt went 3 for 5 in the series finale against Texas to improve to 14 for 28 in a seven-game hitting streak. Burns, on the other hand, is batting .362 during a 15-game hitting streak.
The A’s are 6-4 in their last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Oakland (-129) extends its winning streak to six games with a 6-4 victory in the series opener.
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