Kurtz, Caglianone Highlight K.C. Royals Weekend Series with A's

The Athletics and Royals are both 3-7 in their past ten, but those marks are not the same by any stretch. After starting the season 22-20, the A's record now sits at 24-44, which has an 11-game and a nine-game losing streak sprinkled in there.

They defeated the Minnesota Twins once in four tries last week, and then took two of three from the Baltimore Orioles over the weekend, before getting swept by the Los Angeles Angels.

The Royals are coming off getting swept by the New York Yankees at home, and dropping two of three to the White Sox in Chicago last weekend. Overall the Royals sit at 34-35 this season, in fourth place in the American League Central. Though they're 10.5 games back of the Detroit Tigers in the division, they're still just 2.5 back for the final wild card spot.

The main reason why Caglianone was pushed to the big leagues is that Kansas City's offense had been struggling mightily. On the year, they rank No. 26 in wRC+ with an 85 (100 is league average), so the struggle was real. However, in the month of June, that offense has perked up with the arrival of Caglianone, slotting just ahead of the A's this month at No.8 with a 112 wRC+.

The A's rank No. 9 with a 107 of their own, so the offenses have been comparable recently.

The big difference in this series will be the pitching that each team is currently rolling with. The A's are tied for last this season with the Colorado Rockies, with a 5.63 team ERA. On the year, the Royals rank No. 5 in team ERA with a 3.40, though they have struggled a bit in June.

This month, Kansas City ranks No. 24 with a 4.79 team mark, while the A's are still sitting with a 5.40 at No. 28. That said, the A's have been a little better of late, holding a 3.79 ERA (ranking No. 13) since June 5, when they moved Mitch Spence to the starting rotation and both T.J. McFarland and Michael Kelly returned to the bullpen.

On paper, those recent trends are fairly close, and even though the A's have been losing quite a bit for about a month, they may hold a slight edge on paper.

The difference in this series could be the A's general lack of speed at Kauffman Stadium, which plays fairly large. If the A's aren't able to mash long balls, then that lack of speed on the roster may end up costing them an important base here or there that could change the game.

Pitching matchups

Friday's pitching matchup could be very interesting, with Luis Severino (1-6, 4.77 ERA) taking on Michael Wacha (3-5, 3.01) at 5:05 p.m. (PT). The reasoning is because everything we just said about the current trends of the offense and pitching staff may not apply to these two starters.

On the year, Wacha has been terrific at home, going 2-2 with a 1.80 ERA in seven starts spanning 40 innings. Severino, while his overall ERA is approaching five, has been even better on the road. Through five starts, the right-hander holds a 1-0 record with an 0.87 ERA in 31 innings of work. This one could end up being a pitcher's duel.

The A's don't have a listed starter for Saturday or Sunday's games, but they have been fairly consistent in rolling out an opener before using lefties Jacob Lopez (0-4, 6.00) and Jeffrey Springs (5-5, 4.64) of late, so those will presumably be the bulk guys in this series, with Lopez going Saturday and Springs on Sunday.

The Royals are scheduled to toss Michael Lorenzen (4-6, 4.94) on Saturday, and he has also pitched better at home, holding a 3.00 ERA. Lopez has shut down the Phillies for one run over seven innings and tossed four shutout innings as the bulk guy in his most recent outing, but he's also been knocked around a couple of times in between those outings. The hope is that with a reinforced bullpen, the A's can make a change on the mound when needed.

Sunday's finale will begin at 11:10 a.m. (PT) and the Royals are expected to start impressive rookie left-hander Noah Cameron (2-2, 2.17). Across 37 1/3 innings of work in his big-league career, Cameron has an opponent's batting average of just .165 with a 0.88 WHIP. His expected stats back up the performance, and that's because he limits contact on the barrel. His barell rate is in the 84th percentile.

Cameron will mix five different pitches pretty effectively, topping out with the four-seam at 28.6%, with his least-used pitch being the curveball at 16.4%. Hitters just don't know what they'll get from pitch-to-pitch. His slider is the most deadly offering he has, with a batting average against of just .143 and a 40.8% whiff rate. His breaking and off-speed stuff is in the upper echelon, while his heater is average.

This series should be pretty interesting, and while it may not be a layup series for the A's, there is reason to hope that they may be able to turn things around if they can pitch just enough over the weekend in Kansas City.