The Kansas City Royals are still alive in the wild card hunt but barely, and another loss tonight to the bottom feeding Oakland Athletics will really hurt any chances they might have… Edinson Vólquez will try to stop the bleeding for the Royals. Vólquez is 10-10, with a 5.09 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.49, and he is 3-2 with a 2.89 ERA in 5 career starts against the A’s. The Athletics send Daniel Mengden to the hill and he is 1-7 on the season, with an ERA of 6.39 and a WHIP of 1.69. In Mengden’s two starts since returning from a Minor League stint, he has struggled, yielding 9 runs and 13 hits in just 7-2/3 innings of work. Oakland is 0-4 in Mengden’s last 4 starts and 0-4 in his last 4 against a team with a winning record. The umpire behind the dish tonight is Mike Estabrook. The Athletics are 1-5 in their last 6 games when Estabrook he is pulling the strings. Royals avoid the sweep.
Tonight’s pick:
Kansas City Royals