Frank LorenzoThe 2014 MLB postseason officially starts this Tuesday at 8:07 PM ET when the Oakland Athletics visit the Kansas City Royals at the Kauffman Stadium, in Missouri, in a win or go home situation.
The 2014 MLB postseason officially starts this Tuesday at 8:07 PM ET when the Oakland Athletics visit the Kansas City Royals at the Kauffman Stadium, in Missouri, in a win or go home situation.
The Oakland A’s will veteran lefty Jon Lester to do the job after posting and 16-11 record with a 2.46 ERA.
“The only thing I’m worried about is today,” Oakland’s manager Bob Melvin said. “I know there are other scenarios out there. If you think too hard about them, you get distracted.”
The A’s new scenario means Derek Norris will be on the beach, and the starting catcher will be Geovany Soto. “Derek is available to come off the bench against a lefty, too,” Melvin said. “Derek knows that, I talked to him this morning.”
The Kansas City Royals will start James Shield, a 32 years old right hander that posted a 14-8 record in the regular season and 3.21 ERA. He faced Oakland twice where his team came up with a win.
“I’m bringing James back on (three) days because he’s our ace, and I want to win the division game,” manager Ned Yost said.
In the MLB money line, Oakland is listed -106 and Kansas City is -104. The runs total is at 6.5.
Oakland is 10-16 (-17.8 Units) against the money line in September games this season, and Kansas City is 43-35 (+5.9 Units) against the money line when playing against a team with a winning record this season.
