Oakland Athletics vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 5/5/2023 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Oakland Athletics vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Friday, May 5, 2023

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: Bally Sports Kansas City

Odds/Point Spread: Oakland (+125) Kansas City (-145)

The Kansas City Royals (8-23) are hosting the Oakland Athletics (6-25) at Kauffman Stadium on Friday. The odds on this game have Oakland at +125 and Kansas City is sitting at -145. The over/under comes in at 9. The pitchers who are expected to start are Kyle Muller and Brad Keller.

The Athletics have accounted for 40 doubles as a unit and have smacked 33 balls out of the stadium. Oakland has a slugging percentage of .365 and have struck out 298 times, while being walked on 101 occasions. As a squad, the Oakland Athletics are notching 3.7 runs/g, which has them at 26th in MLB. They have recorded 112 RBI's as well as 231 base knocks this year, and their average at the plate is .224. They have racked up 116 runs scored and have an OBP of .305.

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Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 1.49 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.74. Athletics pitchers have yielded 53 long balls and 239 total runs (30th in MLB). Oakland has allowed 319 base knocks (10.5 per 9 innings) and also 226 earned runs. The Athletics have an earned run average of 7.45 so far this season (30th in baseball), and the staff has rung up 233 hitters. They have walked 156 opposing hitters and their FIP comes in at 6.15 as a squad for the year.

The Athletics have dispatched 110 relievers to the mound on the campaign. The relief pitchers have inherited 60 runners for the season with 46.7% of those players ended up crossing the plate. They have recorded 3 saves over the course of the season and have missed out on 9 out of their 12 chances to save the game. The Athletics relievers have a save rate of 25.0% and has entered the game in 20 save situations. The relief pitchers have 7 holds so far this year (29th in baseball). Athletics pitchers have stepped onto the hill with players on base 41 times as well as having 41 appearances in high leverage situations.

The Oakland Athletics have 819 putouts on the year, as well as 230 assists and 22 errors. Their fielding rate sits at .979 which has them ranked 29th in pro baseball, and have earned 23 double plays. The Athletics have transformed 66.1% of balls in play into outs out of 2,457 innings on the diamond, ranking them 27th in MLB.

Muller has thrown 77 innings and is sitting with 69 strikeouts so far in his MLB career. His ERA is 5.56 (48 earned runs allowed) and his career WHIP is 1.571. He has surrendered 79 base knocks (9.2 hits per 9 innings) with 43 walks. Muller (3-7 career win-loss record) sits with a FIP of 4.57 while he has gone up against 352 opposing batters during his time in the majors.

The Kansas City Royals have tallied an on-base percentage of .282 and a batting average of .225 on the year. They have struck out on 277 occasions (13th in baseball) and are sitting with 233 base hits. Kansas City has tallied 25 home runs this year to go along with 101 runs batted in. The Royals hold a team slugging percentage of .363 and they earn 3.52 runs per outing (29th in MLB). They have hit 52 two-baggers, while taking a walk 73 times as well as notching 109 runs.

The Royals have a team WHIP of 1.443 and have a FIP of 4.77 as a squad for the season. Their K/BB ratio sits at 8.90 (267 strikeouts against 106 bases on balls). They are currently ranked 27th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits surrendered with 284. They have yielded 43 home runs and they concede 5.70 runs per 9 innings (27th in the league). The Kansas City pitching staff have conceded 171 runs over the course of the season while holding a team ERA of 5.50 (165 earned runs yielded).

Kansas City has called on bullpen pitchers to step onto the mound in 8 save chances and they have walked away with 5 saves. They sit at 16th in MLB with a save percentage of 62.5%, and they have sent 103 relief pitchers to the mound so far this year. Their bullpen pitchers have come in 21 times in high leverage situations and on 17 occasions with runners on. Kansas City relief pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 46.4% out of 28 inherited base runners. With 15 save situations, the Royals have accrued 7 holds in addition to 3 blown saves.

In their 2,436 innings on the field, the Royals have earned a defensive efficiency of 67.4% (25th in pro baseball). The Kansas City Royals have gotten 24 double plays and have earned a fielding percentage of .992 (3rd in the majors). The Royals have accrued 248 assists, 9 errors and have amassed 812 putouts over the course of the season.

So far in his career, Keller has allowed 661 base knocks while tallying 499 strikeouts in 664 innings pitched. He has conceded a total of 311 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.420 and a FIP of 4.2. His K/BB ratio is 1.77 and he has faced 2,870 hitters thus far in his career. Keller (37-51 record in his career) has a 4.22 earned run average while allowing 9.0 hits per nine innings.

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Oakland (+125)

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