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Kansas City Royals vs Oakland Athletics Prediction 5-17-24 Picks

Oakland Athletics (19-27) vs. Kansas City Royals (26-19)
May 17, 2024 7:40 pm EDT
The Line: Kansas City Royals / Oakland Athletics ; Over/Under: -
(Get latest betting odds)

The Oakland A’s and the Kansas City Royals meet Friday in MLB action from Kauffman Stadium. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s an Kansas City Royals vs Oakland Athletics Prediction.

Starting Pitching Matchup

The Oakland A’s did not have a starting pitcher announced at the time that this article was posted. The Kansas City Royals will send Cole Ragans to the mound here and Ragans is 2-3 with a 4.22 ERA and 57 strikeouts this season. In his career, Ragans is 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA and 19 strikeouts against Oakland.

Oakland A’s Recap

The Oakland A’s come into this one looking to bounce back from a rough showing in their last series against the Houston Astros, getting swept in their four-game set thanks to an 8-1 loss in Thursday’s series finale, with the A’s totalling just four runs as a team in the four-game set. The series loss followed series losses to other division rivals like the Mariners and Rangers in the last week and a half as well.

A’s Back To Sliding At The Dish

Brent Rooker leads the A’s with 10 home runs and 28 RBIs this season while Abraham Toro has a team-high 44 hits and 17 RBIs. JJ Bleday has a team-high 11 doubles, 37 hits and 18 RBIs and Toro has a .288 batting average. Rooker also has the unfortunate title of leading strikeout bat with 43 K’s at the dish this season. Shea Langeliers has also chipped in 9 home runs and 24 RBIs.

Why the Oakland Athletics will win

  • The Athletics have won each of their last seven games against the Royals following a road loss.
  • The Royals have lost each of their last four night games against the Athletics following a loss.
  • The Athletics have covered the run line each of their last four games at Kauffman Stadium against teams that held a winning record.
  • The Royals have failed to cover the run line each of their last six Friday games against American League opponents that held a losing record.
  • The Athletics have led after 5 innings in each of their last four night games against the Royals.
  • The Athletics have led after 3 innings in each of their last four night games against the Royals.

Kansas City Royals Recap

The Kansas City Royals come into this one looking to rebound from a series loss to Seattle after ending up with a 4-2 loss to the Mariners in Wednesday’s series finale. The series loss was the first in a little while for the Royals after series wins over the Angels and Brewers in the last week and a half.

Royals Still Solid At The Plate

Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 51 hits including 5 home runs, 23 RBIs, 5 triples and 11 doubles while Salvador Perez has a team-high 8 home runs and 33 RBIs with 50 hits of his own. Nelson Velazquez also has a team-high 43 strikeouts while Witt Jr. has a team-high 15 stolen bases and Maikel Garcia has 4 home runs, 25 RBIs and 10 stolen bases this season.

Why the Kansas City Royals will win

  • The Royals have won each of their last 10 home games against teams that held a losing record.
  • The Athletics have lost each of their last seven night games against AL Central opponents following a road loss.
  • The Royals have covered the run line in each of their last nine night games following a road loss.
  • The Athletics have failed to cover the run line in each of their last six night games against AL Central opponents.
  • The Athletics have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last five night games against AL Central opponents that held a winning record.
  • The Athletics have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last five games.

Kansas City Royals vs Oakland Athletics Prediction

I’m on the over here. I know Cole Ragans was viewed by many coming into this season as one of the Royals’ top options in that rotation this season. However, the problem I have is that the A’s, despite some recent struggles have been one of the better teams in baseball in the month of May in terms of hitting against left-handed pitching. The Royals I think will get whatever they want offensively against whoever starts for Oakland here, but I think the over is the best bet here just with the uncertainty at the moment in Ragans’ game. Give me the over.

Chris Ruffolo's Free Pick: Over TBA

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Chris Ruffolo

Chris joined the Sports Chat Place team in August 2016 and has a proven system that combines multiple analytical and situational statistics and trends to give out thousands of winning picks over the last three years with winning records across all of the top leagues, Follow Chris Ruffolo on Twitter @ruffthepickdawg

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