Royals vs. Athletics: Picks, predictions, how to watch Friday’s game

The Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics square off on Friday with first pitch set for 9:40 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA, and will only be available on local TV or through an MLB.tv subscription. The A’s will send Frankie Montas (3-6, 3.40 ERA) to the mound while the Royals will have Daniel Lynch (2-6, 5.50 ERA) starting.

This series is a battle of the two worst teams in baseball at the moment and Oakland (22-43) enters it having lost 13 out of its last 15 contests. The A’s are returning home from a nine-game road trip that was not kind to them, falling to the likes of the Braves, Guardians, and Red Sox. They did end the trip on a positive note, securing a 4-3 victory over Boston yesterday.

Kansas City (21-41) has lost four of its last five games and are firmly planted in the basement of the AL Central standings with the league’s worst record. The Royals will head across the bay after dropping two out of three games in their midweek series at the Giants, a set where they struggled offensively. They were able to hold the Giants at bay in a 3-2 victory last night, ending San Fran’s five-game winning streak.

Royals vs. Athletics

Pitchers: Daniel Lynch vs. Frankie Montas
First pitch: 9:40 p.m. ET
Royals local broadcast: Bally Sports Kansas City
Athletics local broadcast: NBC Sports California
Live stream: MLB.tv (subscription)

Odds, picks & predictions

Run line: Royals -1.5 (-180)
Run total: 7
Moneyline odds: Athletics -145, Royals +125

Moneyline pick: Athletics -145

It’s hard to gauge whether the stoppable force or the moveable object will get the upper hand in this battle of the two worst teams in the American League. Outside of last Saturday’s start at the Guardians, Montas has been generally solid for the A’s and has mostly been a victim of lack of run support. Being back at home will play a factor in Oakland winning tonight and securing back-to-back wins for the first time since May.

Player prop pick: Seth Brown over 0.5 home runs (+500)

Brown has homered three times last week and now leads the team with eight. We’ll predict that he launches one against a struggling starter like Lynch tonight.

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