Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Kansas City Royals vs Oakland Atheltics: Can the A’s sweep the Royals?

The Oakland Atheltics will try to sweep the series against the Kansas City Royals when the two meet at the Oakland Coliseum on Thursday.

The Royals are having a tough week

The Kansas City Royals are second in the AL Central with a 41-34 record. They have lost the last three games inclduig first two in the series against the Athletics. Kansas City  has a 3.86 ERA, a .240 batting average, a .311 on-base percentage, and 1.27 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Bobby Witt Jr. is the best player on the team with 98 hits, 59 runs and 11 home runs.

The Atheltics have swept only one series this season

The Oakland Athletics are at the bottom of the AL West with a 28-48 record. After losing nine consecutive games, they defeated ther Royals in the last two. The Athletics have a 4.30 ERA, a .251 batting average, a .327 on-base percentage, and 1.34 walks plus hits per inning pitched. Abraham Toro leads the team with 70 hits and 31 runs, while Brent Rooker and Shea Langelier are on top with 13 homeruns each.

Betting Trends

The Atheltics are 2-9 SU in their last 11 games, 5-1 SU in their last 6 games against the Royals and 2-6 SU in their last 8 games against teams from the AL. They have played under the total run line in 11 of the last 16 games overall, 4 of the last 6 against Kansas City and 8 of the last 10 home games. The Royals are 2-8 SU in their last 10 games, 4-2 SU in their last 6 games against Oakland, 1-4 SU in their last 5 games on the road and 1-5 SU in their last 6 games in Oakland. Kansas City has played under the total run line in 4 of their last 6 games overall but has gone over in 8 of the last 12 games against teams from the AL and in 5 of the last 6 games against teams from the AL West.

Prediction and Conclusion

The Oakland Atheltics had a terrible start to the month, losing nine consecutive games but won the first two in the series against the Royals by 7-5 and 5-1. They will try to sweep their only second series of the season with Mitch Spence on the mound, who is 4-3 for the season with a 3.95 ERA, 43 K, 57 IP, and 1.21 WHIP. The Royals are determined to prevent that from happening, going with veteran Seth Lugo, who has an impressive season with a 10-2 record, a 2.40 ERA, 79 K, 97.1 IP, and 1.05 WHIP. Given the fact that the Royals have lost the last three games and that they are a much better team than the Athletics, and with Lugo on the mound, they will win this game pretty easily.