Brendan O’Sullivan provides his prediction and best bet for Friday’s Kansas City Royals vs. Athletics matchup.
The Athletics and Royals begin a three-game series to wrap up their regular seasons. Both teams are eliminated from the playoffs, so these games are inconsequential.
Kansas City is a -126 favorite, while the Athletics are +104 on DraftKings Sportsbook. The game total is set at over/under 10.5 runs.
Here’s my prediction and pick for Friday’s Royals vs. Athletics matchup.
Royals vs. Athletics prediction
Amid tense postseason pushes, there’s always a couple games that are stress free. That’ll be the entire Royals vs. Athletics series during the final weekend of regular season baseball.
While the game doesn’t impact playoff seeding, it still provides betting opportunities.
Noah Cameron is on the mound for the Royals. He has a 2.90 ERA across 23 starts and 133.2 innings this season. It’s an impressive rookie season, and he’ll be looking to put a bow on it with his final start tonight.
He’s been effective in his past few games, too. He pitched 6.2, 7.0 and 7.0 innings in his three latest games. He allowed two earned runs in the seven-inning outings and one earned in the 6.2-inning game.
These weren’t bad teams either. Cameron did this against the Blue Jays, Phillies and Guardians. He’s more than capable of finishing off the season strong against the Athletics.
Mason Barnett is starting for the Athletics. He’s also in his rookie season, but only completed 16.2 innings across four starts. His 7.56 ERA leaves a lot to be desired, but it is a small sample size.
Barnett hasn’t allowed fewer than three earned runs, and has pitched as deep as five innings once.
Royals vs. Athletics pick, best bet
In a battle of two rookie pitchers, I’m taking the better one to lead his team to victory.
Cameron has been reliable over a long stretch this season, including against top teams. Barnett hasn’t, which makes this an easy choice for Kansas City moneyline.
Best Bets: Royals moneyline (-126)