ROYALS/ATHLETICS Over 8.5 -110 - While I don?t think that the Royals will generate too much offense vs. Zito, this selection is based more on the fact that I expect the red-hot A?s to pound Hernandez and the weak Kansas City bullpen. The success of the Oakland starting pitchers during this amazing 18-game winning streak has been well documented, but their offense can?t be overlooked either. Over the last 10 games, Oakland has an incredible team batting average of .332, averaging 7.60 runs per game. That production would almost be good enough for the Athletics to put this game Over by themselves! They also may be facing a sore-armed pitcher this afternoon. Hernandez was brilliant in his first 3 Major League starts this season, but he then almost inexplicably lost 10 MPH on his fastball. The Royals, a bit concerned, then skipped over his turn in the rotation after that third start, giving his arm some extra rest. Well, Hernandez has not been the same in his 2 starts since then, allowing a total of 8 earned runs and 18 Men on Base on just 11 innings. The deepest he has ever gone into a game was the 6.2 innings he pitched in his debut, so the A?s will almost certainly get into this terrible Kansas City bullpen, which has a group ERA of 4.71 with a very high WHIP of 1.52. The Over is 7-3 in Oakland?s last 10 games, and I expect their offensive onslaught to continue today.
