Royals vs. Athletics Prediction, Computer Picks, Odds & Pitching Matchup 6/25/2022

The Kansas City Royals (26-43) will look to Edward Olivares, who is coming off a two-homer game, to lead them in a matchup with the Oakland Athletics (23-49) Saturday at 4:10 PM ET. The Royals are -167 favorites for the contest, according to sportsbooks. Kansas City’s Brad Keller and Oakland’s Jared Koenig have been named the starters for this contest.

Royals vs. Athletics Spread and Betting Line

Computer Predictions for Royals vs. Athletics

We have the Athletics on the moneyline at +144 on the moneyline as our best bet in this game after looking at all of the key stats and trends for this matchup. Our computer prediction sees the scoring going over the total of 9.5 runs.

Our computer pick: Oakland Athletics (+144) and Over (9.5)

Royals vs. Athletics Game Info

• Kansas City Royals probable starting pitcher: Brad Keller
• Oakland Athletics probable starting pitcher: Jared Koenig
• Game Day: Saturday, June 25, 2022
• Game Time: 4:10 PM ET
• Location: Kansas City, Missouri
• Stadium: Kauffman Stadium

Kansas City Royals vs Oakland Athletics Pitching Matchup

Royals Starter Brad Keller

• Keller (2-8) takes the mound for the Royals in his 14th start of the season. He has a 4.30 ERA in 75 1/3 innings pitched, with 47 strikeouts.
• The righty’s most recent time out came on Saturday against the Oakland Athletics, when he went 7 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing only one hit.
• In 13 games this season, the 26-year-old has a 4.30 ERA and 5.6 strikeouts per nine innings, while giving up a batting average of .253 to opposing batters.
• Keller heads into this game with seven quality starts under his belt this year.
• Keller heads into this game with 10 outings of five or more innings pitched this season.
• He will face an Athletics offense that ranks 29th in the league with 221 runs while batting .208 as a squad. It has a collective .325 slugging percentage (30th in MLB action) and has hit a total of 49 home runs (29th in MLB).
• In seven innings over one appearance against the Athletics this season, Keller has a 0 ERA and a 0.571 WHIP while his opponents are hitting .048.
• The 26-year-old’s 4.30 ERA ranks 53rd, 1.274 WHIP ranks 42nd, and 5.6 K/9 ranks 62nd among qualifying pitchers this season.

Athletics Starter Jared Koenig

• Koenig (1-2) will take to the mound for the Athletics and make his fourth start of the season.
• The left-hander last pitched on Sunday, when he allowed two hits in 5 2/3 scoreless innings against the Kansas City Royals.
• The 28-year-old has an ERA of 6.59 and 4.0 strikeouts per nine innings with an opponent batting average of .302 in three games this season.
• In three starts this season, Koenig has lasted five or more innings one time, with an average of 4.2 innings per appearance.
• The Royals rank 27th in MLB with 264 runs scored this season. They have a .237 batting average this campaign with 55 home runs (27th in the league).
• The left-hander has allowed the Royals to go 2-for-19 with a double in 5 2/3 innings this season.

Royals Betting Picks & Insights

• The Royals have won five, or 45.5%, of the 11 games they’ve played as favorites this season.
• Kansas City has not entered a game this season as a bigger favorite on the moneyline than the -167 odds on them winning this game.
• The bookmakers’ moneyline implies a 62.5% chance of a victory for the Royals.
• Kansas City’s games have gone over the total in 33 of their 72 chances.
• The Royals have an ATS record of 31-41-0 in 72 games with a spread this season.

Athletics Betting Picks & Insights

• The Athletics have come away with 18 wins in the 58 contests they have been listed as the underdogs in this season.
• Oakland has a win-loss record of 10-18 when favored by +144 or worse by sportsbooks this year.
• The moneyline set for this matchup implies the Athletics have a 41% chance of coming away with a victory in the contest.
• Oakland and its opponents have gone over the total this season in 31 of their 72 opportunities.
• The Athletics have posted a record of 31-41-0 against the spread this season.

Royals Leaders & Batting Stats

• Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 36 runs batted in.
• In all of the majors, Witt Jr. ranks 53rd in homers and 50th in RBI.
• Andrew Benintendi is hitting .302 to pace his team.
• Benintendi is 237th in home runs in MLB, and 142nd in RBI.
• Benintendi heads into this game looking for his fifth game in a row with a hit. In his last five games he is hitting .318 with a home run, two walks and two RBI.
• Whit Merrifield is batting .226 with 15 doubles, three home runs and 21 walks.
• Hunter Dozier is batting .263 with 14 doubles, two triples, seven home runs and 19 walks.

Athletics Leaders & Batting Stats

• Seth Brown leads the Athletics with nine home runs and runs batted in, driving in 33.
• Among all hitters in the majors, Brown ranks 63rd in home runs and 68th in RBI.
• Brown takes a hitting streak of four games into this matchup. In his last five games he is batting .368 with a double, a home run, a walk and two RBI.
• Sean Murphy is batting .218 with 16 doubles, a triple, eight home runs and 21 walks.
• Murphy ranks 82nd among all batters in the majors in homers, and 110th in RBI.
• Elvis Andrus has 16 doubles, three home runs and 18 walks while batting .213.
• Tony Kemp leads the Athletics with a team-leading batting average of .223.