The Royals end their season playing for the first time in Sacramento, a minor league park that will serve as the temporary home of the Athletics (just “Athletics”, don’t you dare acknowledge what city
they represent!) until their ballpark is built in Las Vegas (they’re still building that thing, right?)
Kansas City Royals (80-79) vs. Athletics (75-84) at Sutter Health Park, Sacramento, CA
Royals: 3.99 runs scored/game (26th in MLB), 3.96 runs allowed/game (4th)
Athletics: 4.56 runs scored/game (12th), 5.04 runs allowed/game (27th)
The Athletics have improved significantly in each of the last two seasons, although there was nowhere to go but up. They have developed a solid core of good young hitters, and have three 30+ home run hitters for just the fifth time in club history. Only five teams in baseball have hit more home runs. The ballpark has helped – Sutter Health Park has been the second-most hitter-friendly park behind Coors Field in Colorado.
The A’s lineup is led by a terrific pair of rookies – Nick Kurtz and Jacob Wilson. Kurtz is the heavy favorite to win Rookie of the Year and has 35 home runs despite starting the year in the minors. Wilson is hitting .313, second-best among all qualified hitters, and has the lowest strikeout rate in baseball at a minuscule 7.4 percent.
Lawrence Butler has enjoyed the 14th 20/20 season in club history with 21 homers and 21 steals this year. Shea Langeliers has been great in the second half, hitting .319/.360/.646 with 19 home runs in 55 games. Kurtz is hitting .296/.389/.668 with 21 home runs in 56 games at home. Carlos Cortes is hitting .353/.361/.853 with four home runs in his last 15 games. Butler is hitting just .184/.225/.342 against lefties this year. Max Schuemann is hitting just .148/.250/.148 at home.
Aside from outfielder Denzel Clarke, who is on the Injured List, the Athletics are a generally poor defensive team, according to Outs Above Average. Only four teams have fewer stolen bases, and only four teams have made fewer outs on the bases. Shea Langeliers has allowed 95 stolen bases, most in baseball, nailing just 16 percent of basestealers.
The Athletics have yet to announce any starters for this series, but Luis Morales, Mitch Spence, and Jeffrey Springs are due up in the rotation, although former Royals farmhand Mason Barnett could get a start.
Morales has given up two runs or less in five or more innings in five of his eight starts. The Cuban right-hander had a 3.73 ERA with 107 strikeouts in 89.1 innings across Double-A and Triple-A this year. He throws hard with a fastball that clocks in at 97.3 mph, and a devastating sweeper that opponents are hitting just .103 against with a 35 percent whiff rate.
Spence had a terrific rookie season in 2024 as a Rule 5 draft pick from the Yankees, but has had mixed results this year. He began the year in the bullpen, but has struggled since joining the rotation with a 6.00 ERA in his eight starts. Sutter Health Park has not been kind to him – he has a 6.75 ERA at home with opponents hitting .303 against him. He gave up seven runs in less than four innings in an 11-0 loss to the Pirates in his last start.
Jeffrey Springs has a 4.85 ERA in his last eight starts, but gave up just one run in five innings to earn his 11th win of the year in his last start. Lefties are hitting just .241/.292/.368 against him this year. Springs relies heavily on a change up that yields a 41 percent whiff rate. Springs and Luis Severino are the only two pitchers on the active roster who have more than three years of service time.
The Athletics bullpen has a 4.53 ERA, seventh-worst in baseball, with the second-highest walk rate. They have used 35 different pitches this year, only the 2023 A’s team has used more in club history. Hogan Harris leads the team in saves with four since they traded All-Star closer Mason Miller. Tyler Ferguson has a walk rate of 13.8 percent, fourth-highest among all relievers.
If the Royals can take the series, they will enjoy the 24th winning season in club history. The A’s have some dangerous hitters, but the pitching has been in flux all season. Royals hitters have been pretty solid in September, and the hitting environment in Sacramento will give them an opportunity to end on a high note.
