Oakland Athletics (7-26) vs. Kansas City Royals (8-25)
May 7, 2023 2:10 pm EDT
The Line: Kansas City Royals -125 / Oakland Athletics +100; Over/Under: +9
(Get latest betting odds)
The Oakland Athletics and the Kansas City Royals meet Sunday in MLB action from Kauffman Stadium. This will be the finale in a three-game weekend series. Oakland took a four-run win in the Friday opener, then in game two the A’s kept it going with a close victory. Check back all season long for free MLB picks at Sports Chat Place.
Oakland Athletics
The A’s jumped out to a 9-2 lead at one point in the Friday game and eventually cruised to a 12-8 win. In the Saturday matchup, Oakland had a 5-1 lead at one point and held on for the 5-4 victory. Starting pitcher Ken Waldichuk finished with 5.0 innings, four earned, six hits and six walks.
For the starter job in the finale, the A’s will send out Mason Miller. In his three starts this year, Miller is 0-1 with a 3.52 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 15.1 innings.
Kansas City Royals
Over on the Kansas City side, they had a solid offensive outing with 10 team hits on Friday but couldn’t dig out of the hole. On Saturday the Royals had seven team hits in the loss. Brady Singer lasted 4.0 innings in the start with six hits, five earned and three walks.
It’ll be Ryan Yarbrough in the starting role Sunday. In nine games (two starts) Yarbrough is 0-4 with a 7.40 ERA and 12 strikeouts in 20.2 innings. Over his career Yarbrough is 40-35 with a 4.44 ERA in 136 games (61 starts).
The A’s are 18-41 in their last 59 road games and 18-44 in their last 62 on grass. Oakland is 18-47 in their last 65 overall.
Meanwhile, the Royals are 0-6 in their last six Sunday games and 5-16 in their last 21 at home. Kansas City is 16-38 in their last 54 overall.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably lean Athletics here. This one’s going to depend on what the starters do, though. Miller had a sketchy start in a loss versus the Angels late last month, but he bounced back on 7.0 clean innings with no hits and four walks against Seattle back on May 2. In the Saturday matchup, Oakland had one bad inning in the fourth but otherwise posted a strong effort. I like the A’s to keep it up in the finale.
