MLB Game Preview - Oakland at Kansas City

Wed Aug 28, 2019 8:15 PM EDT

If the Oakland A's reach the postseason in 2019, they likely will be able to thank a weak closing schedule.

Following Tuesday's 2-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals, the A's have 23 of their remaining 31 games against teams currently with sub-.500 records. They have three in New York against the Yankees (87-47) this weekend, and four at Houston (86-47) Sept. 9-12.

Otherwise, the A's have five against the Royals, six against Texas, five against the Angels, four against the Mariners, and four against Detroit.

The two clubs that are closest in competition to the A's, the Indians and Rays, were seventh and 11th in strength of schedule in remaining games entering play Tuesday.

The next opportunity for the A's will be Wednesday's third game of the current four-game series against the Royals. The A's will turn to right-hander Tanner Roark (2-1, 2.63 ERA with the A's) against RHP Jakob Junis (8-12, 4.89 for Kansas City).

Roark is 8-8 with a 3.95 ERA in 25 starts overall this season. He was acquired from the Cincinnati Reds at the trade deadline in exchange for minor league outfielder Jameson Hannah.

Roark is 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in two appearances (one start) in his career against the Royals. He limited the Yankees to just two runs over 6 1/3 innings in his last start. He struck out seven and walked none.

"Walks will kill you," Roark said after that game. "You limit those and challenge guys, which is what I think I do well. Just challenge and attack, move in and out, up and down, keep them on their toes."

The A's are 19-5 against the AL Central this year, outscoring opponents 151-73 in those games.

Since losing the 2014 Wild Card Game, the A's are 11-4 at Kauffman Stadium, outscoring the Royals 111-39.

Junis took a 4-1 loss Friday in Cleveland, yielding four runs on six hits in four innings of work, his second consecutive defeat, on the heels of winning back-to-back starts.

"They put some good at-bats together all night," Junis said following the four-inning outing that snapped a career-long streak of eight consecutive starts of at least six innings. "Even when I was getting them out, I was really mixing it up and going both sides of the plate. It's hard to tell (how deep I could've gone). It didn't fall that way tonight. One tough inning, and that's pretty much the story."

He's held opponents to a .194 (12-for-62) average with runners in scoring position since June 11, the second-lowest mark in the AL in that span (min. 50 AB).

Junis is 1-2 with a 5.03 ERA in four appearances (three starts) against the A's in his brief career. He last faced the A's on June 8, 2018, in Oakland, allowing six runs on 10 hits in 5 1/3 innings. He's made four starts vs. the AL West so far this season, pitching to a 1-3 record and 6.04 ERA.

--Field Level Media