Kansas City Royals vs Oakland Athletics Prediction, 8/23/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Oakland Athletics

Date: Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Location: Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA

TV: NBC Sports California

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (-135) Oakland (+114)

The Oakland Athletics (35-90) will go up against the Kansas City Royals (40-87) at Oakland Coliseum on Wednesday. The moneyline on this contest has the Royals at -135 and the Athletics are coming in at +114. The total has been set at 7.5. The pitchers taking the mound will be Cole Ragans and Kyle Muller.

As a squad, the Kansas City Royals are scoring 4.0 runs per game, which puts them at 27th in the league. They have accumulated 509 runs scored and have an OBP of .300. The Royals have tallied 209 doubles as a squad and have smacked 122 baseballs out of the stadium. They have compiled 490 runs batted in in addition to 1,040 base knocks on the year, while their batting average comes in at .244. Kansas City is slugging .394 and have been called out on strikes 1,081 times, while being walked on 303 occasions.

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They have a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.26 and the pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.42. Royals pitchers have given up 160 home runs and 677 total runs (28th in MLB). Kansas City has surrendered 1,127 base hits (9.2 per 9 innings) as well as 636 earned runs. The Royals are sitting with a team ERA of 5.18 for the season (28th in MLB), and they have struck out 991 batters. Their pitching staff has walked 438 opposing batters and their FIP comes in at 4.71 as a unit so far this season.

Royals pitchers have entered the contest with runners on 87 times in addition to having 108 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 50 holds on the season (28th in the league). The Royals relief pitchers have a save percentage of 48.6% and has stepped onto the mound in 87 save situations. They have compiled 18 saves on the campaign and have blown 19 of their 37 chances to get a save. The relief pitchers have inherited 139 base runners this year and 38.8% of those runners ended up crossing the plate. The Royals have sent 414 relievers to the hill for the season.

The Royals have converted 68.3% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 9,945 innings, ranking them 23rd in the majors. The Kansas City Royals have accounted for 3,315 putouts thus far, in addition to 1,082 assists and 61 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .986 which puts them in 12th in MLB, and they have turned 94 double plays.

Ragans has taken the hill for 93 innings and has accounted for 87 K's so far in his pro baseball career. His ERA is 4.45 (46 earned runs allowed) and his WHIP is 1.419. He has given up 92 hits (8.9 hits per 9 innings) with 40 walks. Ragans (4-7 career record) holds a FIP of 4.19 while he has gone up against 401 batters in the majors.

Oakland is sitting with 126 home runs on the season as well as 433 RBIs. They have 173 two-baggers, while getting a free base 398 times as well as scoring 448 runs. The Oakland Athletics have recorded an on-base percentage of .301 as well as a batting average of .224 for the year. The Athletics have a team slugging % of .367 and they tally 3.58 runs per outing (30th in MLB). They have been rung up on 1,141 instances (7th in MLB) and have accounted for 920 hits.

The Athletics hold a team WHIP of 1.545 in addition to having a FIP of 5.11 as a unit on the season. They are currently ranked 28th in the league as a staff in total hits surrendered with 1,164. The Oakland pitching staff have surrendered 749 runs so far this season while holding a team ERA of 5.80 (706 earned runs surrendered). They have earned a K/BB ratio of 8.30 (1,007 strikeouts vs 530 free passes). They have allowed 170 dingers and they surrender 6.15 runs per 9 innings (30th in baseball).

Oakland has had relief pitchers enter the contest in 44 save chances and they have tallied 20 saves. They sit at 30th in the league with a save rate of 45.5%, and they have sent 417 relievers to the mound over the course of the season. Their relief pitchers have come in 146 times in high leverage situations and also on 153 occasions with runners on base. Oakland relief pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 39.4% of 241 inherited runners. With 87 save situations, the Athletics have earned 41 holds in addition to 24 blown saves.

In 9,870 innings on the field, the Athletics have accumulated a efficiency on defense of 67.3% (29th in pro baseball). The Oakland Athletics have gotten 89 double plays and have a fielding rate of .983 (26th in professional baseball). The Athletics have accrued 983 assists, 74 errors and have notched a total of 3,290 putouts for the year.

Muller (4-9 career mark) has a 6.47 earned run average and has given up 10.4 hits per nine innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 1.59 and he has gone up against 483 batters so far in his career. He has allowed a total of 75 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.687 and a FIP of 5.0. During his pro baseball career, Muller has surrendered 120 hits while he has tallied 89 K's in 104 innings.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kansas City (-135)

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