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

The Kansas City Royals and Oakland Athletics square off on Sunday with first pitch set for 4:07 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 Royals will send Brady Singer (3-1, 4.24 ERA) to the mound as their starter while the A’s will go with Jared Koenig (0-2, 11.25 ERA).

Kansas City (23-41) finds itself on a three-game winning streak which is tied for their longest of the season. Even though they only scored two runs at the plate on Saturday, their pitching staff held the Athletics to only two hits. Singer will be making his 10th start of the season. In his most recent, he pitched five innings and gave up two hits and two earned runs while striking out five on his way to a no-decision. The Royals will continue their road trip out west when this series wraps with a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.

Oakland (22-45) is in the middle of an awful stretch and is 3-18 over their last 21 games. There isn’t a lot going right for this team as they look like they are in for a lengthy rebuild. With little confidence in their rotation, bullpen and lineup, there isn’t a lot going right for the A’s. Koenig will be making the third start of his career and has gotten rocked in his first two outings. In his last, he pitched four innings and gave up nine hits and six earned runs for his second loss of the season. Oakland is off Monday and then will welcome the Seattle Mariners to town for a three-game divisional series starting on Tuesday.

Royals vs. Athletics

Pitchers: Brady Singer vs. Jared Koenig
First pitch: 4:07 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: Kansas City -1.5
Run total: 8
Moneyline odds: Kansas City -145, Oakland +125

Moneyline pick: Kansas City -145

It feels weird backing the Royals in a game, but Singer has been solid in his last few starts. The young righty is becoming more acclimated to the major league level and the same can’t currently be said for Koenig. The Kansas City lineup is starting to show some life which should continue on Sunday.

Player prop pick: Brady Singer over 4.5 strikeouts (-175)

Singer has struck out at least five batters in back-to-back starts. He has fanned at least five batters in four of his nine starts and looks to go five for ten on Sunday. If there was a team that I would take a pitcher’s over on for strikeouts, it would be when they face the Athletics.

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