Reasonably Priced Royals Can Take Down Athletics

Royals vs. Athletics, 9:40 ET

Something happened yesterday that didn't happen all season. The problem is that it wasn't a good thing for me. I lost both plays, which ran my losing streak to four games. That's the longest losing streak of the season. I suppose that should make me happy that we've gotten to June and we aren't suffering a ton of loses in a row. Sure, there have been plenty of 0-2 days, but still more 2-0 days have happened. And, yesterday, I took a play that was plus money so it was a bit more unlikely to happen. I've already put out one play, so I am hopeful that will break the streak, and that this play between the Royals and Athletics will start a winning streak.

Of all the successful teams this season, the Royals have to be my favorite. I remember for my AL Central preview, I wrote something along the lines of the Royals being essentially not worth talking about because the team had no chance of success and even the youth didn't look like they were ready. Those weren't my exact words, but you can get the picture. I wasn't just wrong, I was dead wrong. Kansas City jumped out to a great start and never looked back. It has been a combination of both reliable hitting and very stingy pitching. For the hitting, you can expect that Salvador Perez continues to be the biggest leader on the squad and is leading the way with 11 homers. Bobby Witt Jr. is the support that Perez needed for years and has also played very well this year also having 11 homers, a .327 batting average and 51 RBIs. On the pitching side, the entire team is doing well with a 3.79 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. They are allowing opponents to hit .241 against them. None of these numbers are outstanding, and do make me nervous that at some point the sky will come crashing down on the Royals. Tonight, Alec Marsh takes the ball for the Royals. Marsh has a nice 3.63 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP. After struggling in his first two June starts, he found a groove against the Yankees and went seven scoreless innings where he allowed just one hit. Prior to that start, he had three consecutive here he allowed at least four earned runs. Marsh has faced only five Athletics hitters and four of them have gotten a hit off of him. Overall, the team is hitting .308 against him (4-for-13). 

Jun 7, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Oakland Athletics starting pitcher Hogan Harris (63) delivers a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays during the first inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

On the other side lie the Athletics, a team with the lowest of low expectations for a season. Oakland, the city, seemingly wants nothing to do with the franchise. Oakland, the team, seemingly wants nothing to do with the city or the few hundred fans that decide to show up to games. It is a larger issue than anyone really cares to admit. What we can give the Athletics team credit for is that they've already accumulated 26 wins this season, something they didn't do until July of last year. They are still 22 games under .500, but at least there is some sort of progress. They are almost certainly going to trade away any player on their club that has any small bit of value. One of those trade chips could be tonight's starter Hogan Harris. For the year, Harris is sporting a 2.49 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP over 25.1 innings. While that only covers a total of five outings, it is fairly good production. He does have one quality start for the season, going six innings and allowing just three hits. That was his second home start of the season. Royals hitters haven't seen much of Harris, going 4-for-16 against him, but they do have four RBIs against him despite not getting an extra-base hit. 

Sometimes in betting when the line is reasonable and there is a good enough pitcher on the mound, you just have to take the better team. In this case, Marsh isn't the best pitcher in baseball, but he his good enough. I'm going to back him and the Royals to win this game. Sure, Harris has been good for the Athletics, and they aren't autofades, but I think this is a good opportunity to take the Royals to win at -125. 

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