Royals meet the Athletics with 1-0 series lead

Updated Aug. 18, 2026 4:01 a.m. ET
Associated Press

Athletics (49-76, fourth in the AL West) vs. Kansas City Royals (52-74, fifth in the AL Central)

Kansas City, Missouri; Tuesday, 7:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Jack Perkins (2-9, 7.27 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 94 strikeouts); Royals: Daniel Lynch (4-4, 2.88 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 40 strikeouts)

LINE: Royals -139, Athletics +117; over/under is 10 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals bring a 1-0 advantage into the latest game of the series against the Athletics.

Kansas City has a 52-74 record overall and a 30-30 record in home games. Royals hitters are batting a collective .243, which ranks sixth in the AL.

The Athletics are 49-76 overall and 26-36 in road games. Athletics hitters have a collective .404 slugging percentage to rank seventh in the AL.

The matchup Tuesday is the fifth time these teams meet this season. The season series is tied 2-2.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bobby Witt Jr. has 26 doubles, a triple and 15 home runs for the Royals. Jac Caglianone is 19 for 39 with three doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.

Jeff McNeil has 15 doubles and six home runs while hitting .259 for the Athletics. Lawrence Butler is 8 for 37 with four home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 4-6, .223 batting average, 4.55 ERA, outscored by four runs

Athletics: 4-6, .245 batting average, 6.34 ERA, outscored by 21 runs

INJURIES: Royals: Beck Way: 15-Day IL (back), Connor Seabold: 60-Day IL (lat), Tony Gonsolin: 15-Day IL (elbow), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow), Nick Mears: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Luinder Avila: 60-Day IL (forearm), Cole Ragans: 60-Day IL (elbow), Carlos Estevez: 60-Day IL (foot), Stephen Kolek: 60-Day IL (flexor), Jonathan India: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Athletics: Jacob Wilson: day-to-day (undisclosed), Tyler Soderstrom: 10-Day IL (hip), Brooks Kriske: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jeffrey Springs: 15-Day IL (hip), Denzel Clarke: 60-Day IL (foot), Justin Sterner: 60-Day IL (knee), Jose Suarez: 15-Day IL (hip), Nick Kurtz: 10-Day IL (thumb), Mark Leiter Jr.: 60-Day IL (hip), Shea Langeliers: 10-Day IL (knee), Luis Severino: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Josh Kuroda-Grauer: 10-Day IL (testicle), Brent Rooker: 60-Day IL (knee), Gunnar Hoglund: 60-Day IL (knee)

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

share