Monday, March 27, 2017

Hohokam Stadium

Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.

Probable Pitchers: Jason Vargas vs. Andrew Triggs

The Kansas City Royals visit Hohokam Stadium on Monday, March 27, 2017 to play the Oakland Athletics in a Spring Training matchup. The probable starters are Jason Vargas for the Royals and Andrew Triggs for the Athletics.

The opening line for this matchup has Kansas City at +110 and Oakland at -130. The Royals had a 75-78-9 over/under record and a 85-77-0 run line mark last season, meaning they covered 53% of the time. The Athletics were 90-72-0 against the run line and had a 72-84-6 over/under record. They covered the spread 56% of the time.

Valuable Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

The Kansas City Royals were 75-78-9 against the over/under last season

The Kansas City Royals were 85-77-0 against the run line last season

Important Oakland Athletics Betting Trends

The Oakland Athletics were 72-84-6 against the over/under last season

The Oakland Athletics were 90-72-0 against the run line last season

Key Kansas City Royals Injuries

3/26/2017 Chris Young RP Neck Questionable for start of season
3/21/2017 Kris Medlen SP Shoulder Questionable for start of season
2/15/2017 Brian Flynn RP Back Expected to be out until at least Jun 5

Key Oakland Athletics Injuries

3/26/2017 Trevor Plouffe 3B Hip Questionable for start of season
3/26/2017 Marcus Semien SS Illness Questionable for start of season
3/26/2017 Joey Wendle 2B Shoulder Questionable for start of season
3/25/2017 Khris Davis LF Quadriceps Questionable for start of season
3/24/2017 Matt McBride C Back Questionable for start of season
3/18/2017 Jake Smolinski CF Shoulder Expected to be out until at least Jun 1
3/9/2017 Sonny Gray SP Back Expected to be out until at least Apr 25
3/7/2017 Jarrod Parker SP Elbow Questionable for start of season
2/8/2017 Daniel Mengden SP Foot Expected to be out until at least Apr 15
12/8/2016 Chris Bassitt SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least May 30
11/16/2016 Felix Doubront SP Elbow Expected to be out until at least May 1
11/15/2016 Beau Taylor C Suspension Suspended until Jun 1
9/21/2016 J.B. Wendelken RP Elbow Out for the season

Useful Pitching Statistics

The Royals are coming off a 81-81 record in 2016, including 34-47 on the road. Starting pitcher Jason Vargas had a 0-0 record with an earned run average of 2.25 and a WHIP of 0.92. He had 11 strikeouts over his 12 innings pitched and he gave up 8 hits last season. He allowed 6 hits per 9 innings and he had a FIP of 3.15. The bullpen last year had an earned run average of 3.45 and they gave up 505 base hits on the year. Teams hit .244 against the bullpen while being struck out 509 times and walking 188 times last season. As a team, Kansas City allowed 8.96 hits per nine innings while striking out 8.04 batters per nine innings. They were 17th in the league in team earned run average at 4.21. The Royals pitchers collectively gave up 1,433 base hits and 674 earned runs. They allowed 206 home runs last season and they allowed 1.3 homers per nine innings as a staff. Kansas City as a pitching staff walked 517 batters and struck out 1,287. They walked 3.2 men per 9 innings while striking out 8 per 9. They had a team WHIP of 1.35 and their FIP as a unit was 4.42.

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Hitting Statistics

As a team Kansas City batted .261, good for 7th in the league while putting together a .252 average away from home. The Royals held a .400 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .312 which was good for 26th in baseball. They ranked 6th in baseball with 8.96 hits per game. Eric Hosmer is coming off a 2016 season in which he hit .266 with an on-base percentage of .328. He had 161 hits last season along with 80 runs scored and 104 runs batted in. He struck out 132 times and walked 57 times. Alcides Escobar hit .261 last year and he had an on-base percentage of .292. He totaled 166 hits while scoring 57 runs and he drove in 55. He walked 27 times and struck out on 96 occasions. The Royals had 1,450 hits, including 264 doubles and 147 home runs. They stole 121 bases and were thrown out stealing 35 times. Kansas City walked 382 times last season and they struck out 1,224 times as a unit. They left 1,049 men on base and had a team OPS of .712. They scored 4.17 runs per contest and scored a total of 675 runs last year.

Useful Pitching Statistics

Oakland had a 34-47 home record and a 69-93 overall mark in 2016. With an earned run average of 4.31, Andrew Triggs had a 1-1 record and a 1.23 WHIP last season. He had 55 strikeouts over the 56.1 innings he pitched during which he gave up 56 hits. He allowed 8.9 hits per nine innings and his FIP stood at 3.2. Last season the bullpen had an earned run average of 4.01 and they gave up 522 base hits on the year. Teams hit .241 against the Athletics bullpen while being struck out 530 times and walking 193 times last season. As a team, Oakland allowed 9.16 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.46 batters per nine innings. They were 25th in the league in team earned run average at 4.51. The Athletics pitchers as a team surrendered 1,459 base knocks and 718 earned runs last season. They gave up 185 home runs last year and they gave up 1.2 home runs per nine innings as a staff. Oakland as a staff walked 464 hitters and struck out 1,188. They gave up a walk 2.9 times per 9 innings while they struck out 7.5 per 9. Their team WHIP was 1.34 while their FIP as a staff was 4.24.

Hitting Statistics

As a team, they batted .246, good for 26th in the league while putting together a .236 average at home. The Athletics held a .395 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .304 which was good for 28th in baseball. They ranked 25th in baseball with 8.35 hits per contest. Khris Davis comes into this matchup after batting .247 with an OBP of .307. He had 137 hits last year along with 85 runs scored and 102 RBI. He struck out 166 times and walked on 42 occasions. Jed Lowrie hit .263 in 2016 and he had an OBP of .314. He collected 89 hits while scoring 30 runs and driving in 27. He earned a walk 26 times and punched out 65 times. The Athletics as a unit had 1,352 base hits, including 270 doubles and 169 homers. They had 50 stolen bases and were thrown out 23 times. Oakland as a team walked 442 times last year and they struck out 1,145 times. They had 1,036 men left on base and had an OPS of .699. They scored 4.03 runs per game and totaled 653 runs last season.

Who will win tonight's Royals/Athletics MLB game against the moneyline?

Tony's Pick: Take the Royals +110

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