The Royals make the trip to Oakland to face the Athletics! Neither team has been playing well leading into this series. The Royals are a playoff-contending team, while the Athletics have struggled as one of the worst teams in the MLB. Our MLB odds series has our Royals-Athletics prediction, odds, and pick for Thursday.

Royals-Athletics Projected Starters 

Seth Lugo vs. Mitch Spence

Seth Lugo (10-2) with a 2.40 ERA and a 1.05 WHIP

Last Start: Pitched six innings and gave up two runs on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts in a Royals win.

2024 Road Splits: (7-0) 1.83 ERA

Mitch Spence (4-3) with a 3.95 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP

Last Start: Pitched 5.2 innings and gave up four runs on nine hits with one walk and three strikeouts in an Athletics loss.

2024 Home Splits: (2-2) 4.18 ERA

Here are the MLB Odds, courtesy of FanDuel. 

MLB Odds: Royals-Athletics Odds

Kansas City Royals: -1.5 (+118)

Moneyline: -144

Oakland Athletics: +1.5 (-142)

Moneyline: +122

Over: 7.5 (-115)

Under: 7.5 (-105)

How to Watch Royals vs. Athletics

Time: 3:37 pm ET

TV: NBC Sports California

Stream: fuboTV (Click for free trial)

Why The Royals Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Royals have played well this year and have a 41-33 record. However, they have lost three of their last four games heading into this game. Their pitching is just outside the top 10, while their batting has been a top-10 unit. Seth Lugo has made a potent pitching combination with Brady Singer, Alec Marsh, and Cole Ragans. Their bats have been red-hot recently. Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. have been the main standouts for the Royals behind the plate, but Maikel Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino have also played well. The Royals have been one of the bigger surprises this season.

The Royals are starting Seth Lugo on the mound. He has a 10-2 record, a 2.40 ERA, and a 1.05 WHIP on the year up to this point. Through 97.1 innings, he has allowed 27 runs on 81 hits with 21 walks and 79 strikeouts. He has started in 15 games so far this season and the Royals are 10-5 in those games. Lugo has been the ace of their pitching staff and gets a very favorable matchup against the Athletics with how much they have struggled behind the plate.

The Royals offense has been playing much better recently after a slower start. They are seventh in team batting average at .249 after finishing last season at .254. Their offensive output has been led mainly by Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez in almost every batting category. Witt Jr. leads in batting average at .321, and is tied for the lead with Perez in home runs at 11, in RBI at 51, and in total hits at 96. Finally, Perez leads in OBP at .372. The Royals are playing well behind the plate, but Mitch Spence has been solid overall for the Athletics in a limited role as a starter.

Why The Athletics Will Cover The Spread/Win

The Athletics have struggled this season to a 27-48 record. They recently broke a nine-game losing streak with a win in the first game of this series. The Athletics have struggled behind the plate and their pitching has not been much better, still ranking near the bottom of the MLB. JJ Bleday, Abraham Toro, Shea Langeliers, and Brent Rooker stand out despite the offense struggling. On the mound, Paul Blackburn, JP Sears, and Mitch Spence have been decent despite the staff working on the mound. The Athletics are not the disaster they were last season but that's not saying much.

The Athletics are starting Mitch Spence on the mound and he has a 4-3 record, a 3.95 ERA, and a 1.21 WHIP. He has allowed 26 runs on 55 hits through 57 innings this season. In the 17 games that he has appeared in this season as both a starter and in relief, the Athletics are 6-11. Spence has been solid in his limited role as a starter for the Athletics, but this is a tough matchup against a very good Royals behind the plate.

The offense for the Athletics has been awful and is the second-worst in the MLB this season. They are 29th in the MLB in team batting average at .222 after finishing at .222 last season which was the worst in the league. JJ Bleday, Abraham Toro, and Brent Rooker lead the team in most batting categories. JJ Bleday leads in batting average at .261 and in OBP at .342. Rooker leads in home runs at 13 and in RBI at 42. Finally, Toro leads in total hits at 70.

Final Royals-Athletics Prediction & Pick

The Royals have a clear advantage in this game thanks to Seth Lugo on the mound. Spence is solid for the Athletics, but Lugo is a difference-maker and should help the Royals in this game. The Royals also have more to like behind the plate with all the struggles the Athletics have had on offense. The Royals should win and cover easily thanks to Lugo.

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Final Royals-Athletics Prediction & Pick: Royals -1.5 (+118)