Royals host A's in Tuesday's Wild Card Game
By: Freddy Wander - StatFox
OAKLAND ATHLETICS (88-75) at KANSAS CITY ROYALS (89-73)
American League Wild Card Game
First pitch: Tuesday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Kansas City -110, Oakland +100, Total: 6.5
The Athletics visit the Royals in Tuesday's one-game-playoff AL Wild Card Game with the winner earning the right to face the Angels in the ALDS. Kansas City is making its first postseason appearance since 1985.
Oakland was baseball’s most consistent and hottest team for much of the season, but its trade of OF Yoenis Cespedes for starter Jon Lester was seemingly one step too far as it dropped quickly in the standings and nearly missed the playoffs. The A's were 10-16 over the final month of the season as they hit the fourth-fewest homers in September (12). OF Josh Reddick (.264 BA) is scorching hot entering the postseason though, with multi-hit games in six of his past eight contests in which he is 14-for-29 (.483) with two doubles, a home run, 8 RBI and four runs. The Royals made a strong push at winning the AL Central, but could not hold off the Tigers despite going 6-2 over the final part of the year. On the season, they were a tough matchup for pitchers, hitting .263 as a team (4th in the league) but failing to hit many homers with just 95; the fewest in baseball. SS Alcides Escobar (.285 BA) has been huge in the leadoff spot lately, bringing a nine-game hitting streak into the playoffs in which he is 17-for-40 (.425) with three doubles and 3 RBI. This game will prove if Oakland was smart to trade one of its top young offensive players as LHP Jon Lester (16-11, 2.46 ERA) takes the mound for the visiting Athletics and will square off against RHP James Shields (14-8, 3.21 ERA) of the host Royals. Oakland must certainly be dismayed that it fell so hard to finish the season, and much of its issues were on the road, as the A's posted a sub-.500 record (40-41) away from home, but Kansas City is a pedestrian 42-39 (.519) in front of its fans. These two clubs have actually split their 22 games (11-11) over the past three seasons while the Royals hold an 8-5 edge when playing at home. In 2014, Kansas City was victorious in 5-of-7 games against Oakland, and took 3-of-4 at home in their most recent meeting where they outscored the Athletics 16-5 in the three wins. Both teams come into this game with a clean bill of health on the offensive side of the ball.
Jon Lester has been a stud over the past seven years with 15 or more wins and a sub-3.85 ERA in six of the seasons. His 2014 campaign was quite possibly his greatest, as he had a career-best ERA (2.46) while striking out at least one batter per inning for the first time since 2010. The lefty also had the best control (2.0 BB/9) in his eight-year career. He actually improved after his move to Oakland and went 6-4 with a 2.35 ERA and 1.10 WHIP, while allowing seven homers in 76.2 frames (0.66 HR/9). Lester has turned in a quality start in each of his past 10 outings, including one against the Royals in which he gave up three runs on six hits and two walks over six innings while striking out nine in a winning effort. Overall in his career against them he has been tremendous, going 9-3 with a 1.84 ERA and 1.07 WHIP, and has allowed a meager one homer in 88 innings. Leadoff hitter SS Alcides Escobar (5-for-17, 2 doubles, 2 RBI) and OF Norichika Aoki (4-for-9, 2 RBI) have been solid against Lester in their careers while DH Billy Butler (4-for-28, 11 K's) and OF Alex Gordon (4-for-25, 10 K's) have been horrible in the matchup. Oakland’s bullpen has been outstanding this season with a 26-23 record, 2.91 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, but going a woeful 31-for-52 (60%) in save opportunities. Closer Sean Doolittle (2.73 ERA, 22 saves) has blown four saves this year while recording an impressive strikeout rate (12.8 K/9) and walking a mere 1.2 batters per nine innings.
This is the type of game that the Royals acquired James Shields for, as he is coming off his eighth consecutive season of 11 or more wins and 200 plus innings, and he has an ERA of 3.85 or better in six of the past eight years. While his strikeout rate has declined to 7.1 K/9 over the past three seasons, Shields has been able to improve his control (1.7 BB/9), and has kept the ball on the ground with 45.2% of balls put in play being grounders. Shields has a quality start in nine of his past 10 outings, while his team is 7-3 in that time. Against the Athletics in his career, the righty is 6-4 with a 3.82 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, and was 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA over two starts this year while striking out a mere seven batters over 14 frames. OF Josh Reddick has owned the veteran in his career, going 7-for-22 (.318) with five extra-base hits (3 HR) and 5 RBI. Meanwhile, DH Adam Dunn (7-for-35, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 16 K's), OF Coco Crisp (3-for-24, 5 K's), SS Jed Lowrie (3-for-16, 4 K's) and 1B Brandon Moss (3-for-14, 5 K's) have not seen the ball well out of Shields’ hands. The relievers for Kansas City have combined to go 28-18 (.609) this season with a strong 3.30 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, and have successfully converted 53-of-65 (82%) save opportunities. Greg Holland (1.44 ERA, 46 saves) has become one of the top closers in baseball while striking out a ton of batters (13.0 K/9) and has a .168 BAA.
