The Kansas City Royals battle the visiting Oakland Athletics on Thursday in MLB betting action at Kauffman Stadium.

For the Royals, Luke Hochevar gets the ball, charged with keeping the Athletics hitters off the base paths. He'll face Daniel Straily, 0-0 on the year.



View Oakland vs Kansas City Odds and Stats.

Betting Line:
On the Sportsbook MLB line for this matchup, Kansas City sat as -110 favorites. The total was set at 9.

Power Rankings:
This game matches up the No. 8 (Royals) and the No. 11 (Athletics) teams in their respective leagues, according to our current MLB Power Rankings.



How They Match Up:
The game also pits Kansas City's No. 11-rated American League offense, averaging 4.2 runs per game, against a Athletics defense that ranks No. 2 in the American League at 3.8 in runs allowed per game. The Royals have averaged 9.3 hits per game so far, more than Athletics batters have averaged on the year (7.8 hits per game).

Comparing defensive stats, Oakland owns the American League's No. 6-rated road mark, allowing 4.2 runs per game on the highway. Kansas City, on the other hand, rates No. 10 in scoring at home.

Oakland was a 3-2 loser in its last match on the road against the Royals. They lost as -120 favorites, while the total score of 5 made Sportsbooks of UNDER bettors. The Athletics were saddled with a loss last time out in Brandon McCarthy's start, as they lost 3-2 against Kansas City on Wednesday at Kauffman Stadium.




Oakland Athletics Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 6-4
Before playing Cleveland are 3-7
After playing Kansas City are 5-5
After a loss are 5-5

Kansas City Royals Trends:
When playing on Thursday are 2-8
Before playing Chi White Sox are 5-5
After playing Oakland are 4-6
After a win are 5-5

A few Athletics at Royals trends to consider:
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Oakland's last 8 games when playing on the road against Kansas City
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Oakland's last 5 games when playing Kansas City
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Oakland's last 7 games on the road
Oakland is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 7 of Kansas City's last 8 games when playing at home against Oakland
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas City's last 5 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Kansas City's last 5 games at home
Kansas City is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games when playing Oakland


Next up:
Oakland home to Cleveland, Friday, August 17
Kansas City home to Chi White Sox, Friday, August 17