AL Wild Card Preview: Royals Host Athletics

Twenty nine years is a very long time to wait. That's how long it has been. The Kansas City Royals are playing in their first playoff game since they won the World Series all the way back in 1985. Fans of this baseball franchise have been waiting for a long time to get a taste of October baseball once again. In that time frame the team has had only nine winning seasons, but none of them have been good enough to get them into the playoffs till this year. To make things even more interesting, they are playing a team in the A's who called Kansas City home from 1955-1967. One club has an offense that doesn't look like it should be a playoff team, while the other offense has been a shell of its former self over the last two months.

These two clubs got to this point in different ways. Oakland comes into tonight's game with a record of 88-74, while the Royals finished the season at 89-73. Kansas City seemed to turn things around at the right time, getting hot down the stretch. Meanwhile the Athletics really struggled over the final two months of the season, after the all star break the team compiled a .433 winning percentage, the lowest by a team since the all star game was instituted in 1933.

During the regular season, these two teams met seven times, with the Royals winning five of the seven. All of that means little to nothing now, as it comes down to one game to decide who moves on to take on the Angles in the Divisional round. So with that in mind, lets see how these two teams stack up heading into this one game playoff.

Home vs. Road
This game could be a benefit for the Royals and possibly hurt the A's. Oakland finished the year a game under .500 this year on the road, as they went 40-41. Meanwhile the Royals went a respectable 42-39 at home. Both teams are solid at home and have room for improvement on the road. Oakland is going to have to scratch and claw and fight in this game to have a chance to move on.

Starting Pitching
Jon Lester (16-11, 2.46) gets the start for Oakland, while James Shields (14-8, 3.21), takes the ball for the Royals. This is the reason why the A's brought Lester on board. They did give up quite a bit in the deal, when they sent Yeonis Cespedes to Boston, as Cespedes had been the heart and soul of the Oakland lineup. But Lester is worth it come playoff time. Lester has an 8-5 record on the road this season, while going 2-3 all time in his career at Kaufman Stadium. Of the likely starters, Billy Butler, Alex Gordon, Omar Infante, Alcides Escobar, Lorenzo Cain, Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas have seen Lester at least 15 times. Of those guys, only Hosmer, Cain and and Escobar have had success against Lester.

As for Shields, he has done pretty well at home, but has been a better pitcher on the road this year. Of the expected A's starters, only Adam Dunn, Coco Crisp, Jed Lowrie and Josh Reddick have at least 15 career plate appearances against Shields. In six career postseason starts, Shields is 2-4 with a 4.98 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. As for Lester, in his 76 2/3 career postseason innings, he has a 2.11 ERA and 1.04 WHIP. Last postseason, he was dominant for the Red Sox.

Advantage: Athletics

Bullepn:
Is there a better pen in baseball right now than that of the Royals? Not that I can think of. Kelvin Herrera Wade Davis and Greg Holland have been great out of the Pen for the Royals this season. There have been times however, that Ned Yoast has mishandled the bullpen this season, which might come back to bite him in the rear end tonight, should he misuse his pen if it gets that far. Lets not take anything away from the Oakland Pen here. Sean Doolittle has been good closing games in Oakland, saving 22 games this year. Still the Royals have the better pen here.

Advantage: Royals

Offense:
At this point in the season, neither team has been offensively strong, but Oakland is better off at this point I feel. Kansas City managed to become the first team to ever make the playoffs in a season in which they finished last in the league in home runs and walks (ESPN). They finished ninth in the league in runs scored, they don't have anyone with 75 RBIs, and they have no one with 20 home runs. They play small ball to score runs and rely on their solid pitching to make those low run totals hold up. As for Oakland, its been a flipped switch for them to be able to produce. Oakland has two guys, Josh Donaldson and Brandon Moss, who have over 20 homers on the season, to go along with three other guys who have double digits in long balls. Oakland can produce runs, but ever since the trade of Cespedes, Oakland hasn't been able to find that offensive groove again. No Cespedes and injuries to Moss and Donaldson are a big reason why Oakland's production has gone down as the year has worn on. Still I think Oakland has a bit more of a punch to their lineup.

Advantage: Athletics

Final Analysis
Most of the things that can be taken into account over the course of a series can be thrown right out the window in the Wild Card game, as its one and done in this situation. Sure the Royals have a balanced team with good pitching, but most of them don't have playoff experience under their belt, which is going to hurt them tonight. I know Oakland isn't the same ball club that you saw from the start of the year, still I think they have enough to pull out one more win.

Pick: Oakland Athletics!