Author: Charlie O. Mallonee

I have been a sports reporter/broadcaster since 1976 which means ... I'm old and I love sports. I have done play-by-play for minor league baseball - including the infamous "Bad News Bees" - San Jose State football and football and high school sports in the Bay Area and on the Monterey Peninsula. I had the great privilege to host a weekly sports talk show on KNRY Radio Monterey/Salinas with my producer the late,great Gary Araki. I also hosted and produced "the Sports Fanatics" talk show on KSAC Radio in Sacramento. For the last 10 years, I have been a beat reporter covering the Oakland Athletics for Sports Radio Service. Three years ago, I became the senior reporter for our Sacramento Kings coverage. My goal is to bring you the news, views, fun and excitement of every event I am assigned to report on for Sports Radio Service.

Kings down the Knicks 113-92 in the Garden

Published on November 3, 2019November 3, 2019 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

NYC Fox — Fox to the bucket Photo: @SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Sacramento Kings took the opportunity to build off their first win on Friday night to put victory number two in the book by crushing the New York Knicks 113-92 on Sunday night in the Garden. Teams traveling to the East Coast from the West can sometimes suffer from fatigue and time disorientation in their first game of a road trip. That did not happen on Sunday night.

Fast start in Manhattan
The lead changed hands three times in the first quarter of the game. The third lead change came with 7:51 to go in the period. The Kings took a 10-9 lead off a Harrison Barnes finger-roll layup. Sacramento would never trail again in the game.

The Kings shot 52.2% from the floor in the first quarter and put in 5 of 12 attempts from behind the 3-point arc. When the buzzer sounded after the first 12-minutes were over, Sacramento held a 32-23 lead over the home team.

No let-up in the 2nd quarter
The Kings kept the pressure on the Knicks in the second period by continuing to shoot well and by playing tenacious defense. Sacramento made good on 11 of their 19 Field Goal Attempts (57.9%), hit 3 of 6 (50.0%) from downtown and went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free throw line.

The Kings defense held the Knicks to just 28.6% (6-for-21) shooting and limited New York to just 2 of 10 from 3-point range.

The Kings held a 61-41 lead at the half.

What would happen in the third quarter?
The Kings had not outscored an opponent in the third quarter of any of their previous six games. That had led to their demise in every contest except on Friday night versus Utah.

That all changed on Sunday night in NYC. The Kings outscored the Knicks 29-23 and broke the third quarter curse that seemed like it would never go away.

Again, it was a combination of good shooting and a strong defense that did the in the job for the Kings. One example of the defense is the fact New York went 0-for-7 from “downtown” in the period. Sacramento was up 90-64 after 36 minutes of play.

The Knicks didn’t roll over and play dead
Every player in the NBA is a proud professional. They all want to win and every one of them hates to lose. The Knicks tried to make the game competitive in the last period.

Kings head coach Luke Walton had to leave his starters in for over half the quarter because the pesky Knicks would not go away. It was a tremendous “chase-down” block that ended the New York comeback run.

The Kings won their second game of the season 113-92. Sacramento is 2-5 while New York drops to 1-6 on the young campaign.

Postgame thoughts
Kings head coach Luke Walton had a number of thoughts after the win:

Walton said he told his team this game would set the tone for the road trip.
He said the key to the victory was the reduced number of turnovers and competition for rebounds. The Kings turned the ball over just 13 times and outrebounded New York 49-39.
Walton was happy that his team won the 3rd quarter but emphasized the team did not talk about the problem during halftime of the last two games – both victories.
He also mentioned a sitdown that he and De’Aaron Fox had on the plane just to review video clips and plays. Fox scored a team-high 24 points and dished out six assists in the win. That was some productive coach-player time.
When asked by a New York reporter about the playoffs, Walton replied that he’s not worried about the playoffs. He said he is interested in getting better every day.

Top performances

All of the Kings starting five scored in double figures.
Richaun Holmes had another double-double game scoring 14 points and grabbing 10 rebounds (four off the offensive glass).
Buddy Hield found the bucket again. He put 22 points in the book shooting 8-for-16 overall and hitting 5 of 11 from long range.
Harrison Barnes enjoyed his night in the Garden putting up 19 points.
Nemanja Bjelica recorded 10 points, made eight rebounds and distributed six assists in his 24-minutes on the floor.
The Knicks were led by Marcus Morris Sr. with a game-high 28 points and rookie RJ Barrett who added 22 points in 40-plus minutes of playing time.

Up next
The Kings head up “North” to face the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night. The Raptors will be much tougher competition, but the Kings have won in Exposition City before.

The Knicks will also return to action on Wednesday night when they travel to Detroit.

Winless Kings are blown out in Utah 113-81

Published on October 27, 2019October 27, 2019 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

“That was embarassing,” said Kings Head Coach Luke Walton after his team was blown out by the Utah Jazz 113-81 on Saturday night. Walton was not blaming just his players. He was blaming himself and his coaching staff as well. The poor performance the team has shown in its 0-3 start to the season has the entire organization on edge.

To say that no one saw this coming is a total understatement. The Kings were projected to be one of the teams fighting for the eighth playoff slot in the NBA Western Division. Right now, fans are asking when will the Kings win their first game of the season.

This game was over by halftime

The Kings trailed the Jazz 35-25 after the first 12 minutes were in the book. Then came the disastrous second period. Utah outscored Sacramento 31-16.

The Kings put in just 5 of 15 field goal attempts (33.3%) in the second quarter while the Jazz was shooting at 57.1% clip. Sacramento had no Fast Break Points in the first half. It was just ugly.

The teams went to the locker rooms with the Jazz leading the Kings 66-41.

Hey, it was the back end of a back-to-back

Yes, the Kings were playing the second game of a back-to-back set on the road which means the odds were not in their favor. However, the Jazz (2-1) lost to the Lakers on the road on Friday night 95-86, so they were on the second game of a back-to-back as well.

Back-to-back games on the road are tough to win, but that is no excuse for the poor performance the Kings showed on Saturday night.

All Sacramento starters report to the bench

With 8:39 to go in the third quarter, Luke Walton pulled his starters off the floor. It was a coach waving the white flag. He took the opportunity to put in his reserves and get them some valuable playing time.

Utah top performers

Bojan Bogdanovic scored a game-high 26 points in just over 24 minutes on the floor. He hit 10 of 18 shots from the floor including five 3-pointers.
Donovan Mitchell added 15 points. He went a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the 3-point line.
Mike Conley and Georges Niang scored 12 points each.
As a team, the Jazz shot 56.4 % from the floor and 48.6% from downtown. They outrebounded the Kings 43-31.

Kings in the spotlight

Dewayne Dedmon led the Kings in scoring with 11 points. He also added six rebounds.
Bogdan Bogdanovic put up 10 points and dished out two assists.
De’Aaron Fox scored nine points and distributed five dimes.
The Kings shot just 37% from the field.

Up next

The Kings will have Sunday off and will return to play on Monday night when they will host the 2-0 Denver Nuggets at the Golden 1 Center.

The Jazz will travel to Phoenix to take on the Suns on Monday evening.

The Kings get burned by the Suns 124-95 in their NBA season opener

Published on October 24, 2019 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The hopes and dreams of the Sacramento Kings hit a brick wall at 100 mph when they were blown out in their 2019-20 season opener in Phoenix by the Suns 124-95 on Wednesday night. The Suns did make upgrades to their team personnel in the offseason, but no one has them even coming close to making the playoffs. The Kings are considered to be a potential playoff team.

The first half was a back and forth affair

The teams played evenly in the first half. The Kings won the first quarter 29-25. Buddy Hield put 11 points in the book sinking 4 of 7 shots (two 3-pointers) to go along with seven points from Harrison Barnes.

Hield led the charge for Sacramento in the second period as he put in 11 of the Kings 30 points scored in the quarter. De’Arron Fox added five points and three assists.

The Suns scored 29 points in the second quarter. Kelly Oubre Jr. led the scoring attack with eight points and Ricky Rubio added five.

At the half, the Kings were up 59-54 over the Suns.

Third-quarter turnaround

The Suns came out of halftime on fire. They hit 14 of 25 (56%) of their shots from the floor and went 3-for-6 from 3-point range.

The Kings shot just 29.4% for the quarter while turning the ball over 10 times which resulted in 19 points for Phoenix.

When the quarter ended, the Suns held an 86-76 lead over Sacramento and they would never look back.

Two major problems for the Kings

Turnovers were a major problem for Sacramento in their season opener. The Kings committed 27 turnovers that resulted in 35 points for the Suns. Last season, the Kings highest turnover total was 26 which ironically came in a game on the road in Phoenix.

The Kings were dominated in the paint. The Suns outscored Sacramento 68-34 in the paint on Wednesday night.

Both of those problems were seen in India when the Kings played the Pacers, but both issues had appeared to go away in the preseason games played in the States.

Players of the Game

PHX

Deandre Ayton recorded a double-double scoring 18 and grabbing 11 rebounds. He also blocked four shots and had one steal. Ayton went 9-for-14 shooting for a 64.3 Field Goal Percentage. For fantasy players, Ayton’s score was 46.2.

SAC

Buddy Hield scored 28 points, hauled in five rebounds and added two assists. He hit 10 of 19 shots (52.6%) from the floor and went 6-for-12 from 3-point land. His fantasy score was 32.0.

Honorable mention

Kings

Marvin Bagley III recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds
Harrison Barnes scored 12 points and added six rebounds
Corey Joseph put up 10 points and dished out four assists
De’Aaron Fox added eight points and five assists while missing most of the third quarter with foul trouble

Suns

Devin Booker scored 22 points and added 10 assists
Ricky Rubio recorded a double-double with 11 points and 11 assists
Kelly Oubre Jr. put up 21 points plus nine rebounds

Up next

The Kings will return to action on Friday night when they will host the Portland Trail Blazers in their home opener at the Golden 1 Center.

Fantasy Football Doctors Podcast: NFL Week #7

Published on October 18, 2019October 18, 2019 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Fantasy Football Doctors Podcast

your hosts Dr. Vasu Vaddiparty & Dr. Charlie O. Mallonee

Week 7 is a big bye week – work that wavier wire

Major updates since recording the podcast:

A.J. Green is out for Bengals Sunday
The Saints will be without Alvin Kamara
Davante Adams will not play for the Packers versus the Raiders
Todd Gurley is expected to play for the Rams
Saquon Barkley should play for the Giants

Kyler Murray and Daniel Jones could be great starts at QB this Sunday
Jimmy Garoppolo could be an “iffy” start
Tevin Coleman is a must start at RB
Josh Jacobs may run all over the Packers
All of the Rams WR’s should be starters this Sunday
Don’t think about sitting Alshon Jeffery

That’s just some of the advice the doctors have for you to make sure a victory is your future this week. Push play now!

More breakfast basketball on Saturday from India, but same results for the Kings

Published on October 5, 2019October 5, 2019 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Mumbai game 2a — Fox and Hield on the break Photo: @SacramentoKings

By Charlie O. Mallonee @Charlieo1320

The second and final contest of the inaugural NBA India Games was played on Saturday morning California time and the Kings came up short in that game losing to the Indiana Pacers 130-106. Frankly, game two lacked the enthusiasm and execution that was seen in game one.

Since game one required overtime to decide the winner, the players spent more time on the court than either coach planned on before the tipoff. With so many players recording big minutes in game one, that certainly alerted the playing rotation for both teams on Saturday.

The starters looked sluggish

mumbai bollywood — Mumbai Bollywood Night Photo: @SacramentoKings

The players participated in a big “Bollywood Night” that was held in their honor after the game on Friday. Couple that with the players being just about 12 hours off their regular time zones and having to deal with all the additional commitments beyond just the games — fatigue became a major factor that had to be battled in the final game on this long trip.

Sacramento had a shorter bench which meant their players had to play more minutes and their execution reflected that situation.

Bottom line, this game looked like an NBA preseason game. The second half featured many players who will be wearing the jerseys of Ft. Wayne and Stockton of the G-League later this month.

New Kings to watch

Kyle Guy — The Kings’ second-round draft pick- saw his first game action on Saturday. He played just under 20-minutes shooing 2-for-7 (one 3-pointer) while sinking 4-of-5 from the free-throw line. The rookie grabbed two rebounds and dished out three assists. Guy finished with nine points.

Caleb Swanigan came off the bench and did some banging under the boards for Sacramento. It did not take long for him to make his presence known. Swanigan scored four points, pulled down four rebounds, blocked two shots and added three assists in little over 17-minutes on the court. He did commit five fouls — which will have to be addressed — but Swanigan made a mark in the game.

Wenyen Gabriel — another of the Kings’ two-way players — played 15-minutes scoring six points. He shot only 1-for-5 from the floor (3-pointer), but he converted 3-of-4 from the charity stripe. Gabriel also added four rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot and one steal.

SAC leaders

Scoring: Buddy Hield 17 points
Rebounding: Dewayne Dedmon 7 rebounds
Assists: De’Aaron Fox 6
Steals: Justin James 3
Blocked Shots: Dedmon 2/ Swanigan 2

Significant Stats

The Pacers attempted 94 shots in the game to the Kings 81
IND shot 52.1% overall; SAC shot 38.3% for the game
The Kings went to the free-throw line 41 times to just 18 trips for the Pacers
The Kings were outrebounded 51-35
Assists: IND 35 SAC 24
Turnovers: Pacers 20 (22 SAC points) Kings 19 (20 IND points)
The Biggie – Points in the Paint: Pacers 60 Kings 28 (oh my)

Air Drake

Approximately two hours after the game ended, the Kings boarded “Air Drake” (their charter belongs to the rapper Drake — check it out online). They will take about 48 hours to readjust to being in California, and then, they will get ready for their third preseason game of the year. That game will be with the Phoenix Suns at the Golden 1 Center on Thursday night.

NBA Basketball in Mumbai: Pacers beat Kings 132-132 in OT

Published on October 4, 2019October 4, 2019 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

Mumbai final — Photo/Graphic: NBC Sports California

The NBA goes to Bollywood!

By Charlie O @Charlieo1320

The first-ever NBA game was played in Mumbai, India on Friday night between the Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings. Well, it was Friday night if you were in Mumbai. If you were in Sacramento, the game tipped off at 6:30 AM, so it was bagels and basketball.

The Game

Much to the chagrin of the coaches and to the delight of the crowd, the game required overtime. The Pacers prevailed in OT 132-131. The Kings’ Buddy Hield put up a long 3-point shot that had a realistic chance of going in, but bounced high off the rim and was put back in by Marvin Bagley for two points at the buzzer. Sacramento fell one point short of causing double overtime.

To say that the players were “gassed” would be a gross understatement. All five of the Indiana starters and three of the Sacramento starting five played 30-minutes or more. Rest assured that neither Nate McMillan nor Luke Walton planned to play any of their players for that long in the first preseason game.

Key Numbers

T.J. Warren — who was traded the Pacers by the Suns in the off-season — was the game’s leading scorer with 30 points. He hit 11-of-18 from the floor and was 5-of-6 from behind the 3-point line.

Domantas Sabonis recorded a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds. He made six rebounds on offense and six on defense.

Point Guard Malcolm Brogdon also had a double-double game with 15 points and 14 assists.

Buddy Hield led the Kings’ scoring attack with 28 points. He shot 11-for-20 from the field and converted 4-of-10 from downtown.

Harrison Barnes — fresh off his time with Team USA — put 21 points in the book. Barnes went a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line.

De’Aaron Fox added 15 points and dished out eight assists.

Numbers for concern

Luke Walton cannot be happy that his team was outrebounded 47-30. The Pacers scored 21 second chance points to the Kings’ seven. That is not a winning formula in the NBA.

Nate McMillan will be talking to his team about turnovers. The Pacers turned the ball over 25 times in the contest, which resulted in 25 Sacramento points.

Why India?

The NBA really sees itself as being a worldwide game and marketing force. The league’s goal is to literally market itself around the globe. With a population of over 1.3 billion people, India is a market that cannot be ignored.

Here are a few other facts:

More than 3 million fans in India follow the NBA on Facebook.
Over 300 live NBA games are available to viewers in India each season. In fact, fans in Sacramento often welcome Indian viewers just before tipoff.
The NBA opened an office in Mumbai in 2012 — one of 12 NBA offices outside the USA.
The NBA Academy India was opened in 2017 in Delhi to help develop top male and female basketball prospects.

The other reason India is a key target for the association is Kings majority owner Vivek Ranadive is originally from Mumbai. It has been his dream to bring the game to his country of origin.

“This is a historic day, but for me it’s a dream come true. I left Bombay (Mumbai) when I was 17 years old and literally I had $50 in my pocket, so to come back here with my NBA team and also bring my friend Herb Simon with his team and to play an actual NBA game is beyond my wildest, wildest imagination,” explained Ranadive.

Ranadive has a vision for the future, “What I see happening is that within the next 10 years, this game, it’ll never surpass cricket as the national pastime, but it’ll be right up there. And hopefully, Commissioner, we can launch a league right here in India. I hope in the next 10 years that we’ll have at least one player that comes out of the system that plays in the NBA. We already see players. And I fully expect that there will be arenas that spring up across the country where we can play these games.”

More from Mumbai tomorrow

The Kings and Pacers will play one more preseason game on Saturday night in Mumbai. The tipoff time in Indiana is 8:30 AM and in Sacramento it is 6:30 AM. If you call yourself a real NBA fan, it is breakfast and basketball tomorrow morning.

Countdown to the AL Wild Card Game

Published on October 1, 2019October 1, 2019 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

By Charlie O. Mallonee

In just over 19 hours, Sean Manaea is going to throw the first pitch in the 2019 American League Wild Card game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Oakland Athletics. In just over three hours (after all, it is an American League game) one team will be leaving for Houston and the other team will heading home to pack up their lockers.

Manaea gets the call

The A’s had to decide between using Mike Fiers and Sean Manaea as the starter on Wednesday night. Fiers has been “the ace” of the staff with 33 starts, a 15-4 record, a 3.90 ERA, and a WHIP of 1.19. In two starts versus the Rays, he gave up just three total runs.

Manaea was activated off the Injured List on September 1st and made five starts in the final month of the season. He posted a 4-0 record with a 1.21 ERA and a WHIP of 0.78. Manaea has always been the heir apparent to the number starter’s role for Oakland.

Jon Morosi was a guest today on the Damon, Ratto, and Kolsky Show. Morosi — who is a reporter for the MLB Network and Fox Sports — said he feels that using Manaea as the starter on Wednesday is the perfect choice between the two pitchers.

Morton is the man for Tampa

Charlie Morton will take the hill for the Rays. He posted a record of 16-6 with 3.05 ERA for the season. After the Rays made “the opener” famous last year, Morton — a classic starter — became their star this season. Morton will use his curveball 37-percent of the time in the game on Wednesday night.

The A’s love the Coliseum

The Athletics record at home this season was 52-29 (.642). You would have to think that the A’s will feel more confident playing on their home field.

The A’s and Rays this season

The two teams played seven games this season. The A’s won four games and the Rays won three. Oakland won 2-of-3 in Tampa Bay and the teams split a four-game series in Oakland.

The odds

The A’s are the favorites on the money line -125. The projected run total is 7.5.

The A’s beat the Mariners and secure home-field advantage for the Wild Card

Published on September 28, 2019 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

by Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland Athletics beat the Seattle Mariners 1-0 on Saturday night to win their 97th game of the season which tied their win total from the 2018 season. More importantly, the win guarantees them home-field advantage for the single-game Wild Card contest with the Tampa Rays on Wednesday night.

The A’s are 52-29 at the Coliseum this season and are 7-3 over their last 10 games. The Rays are 48-32 on the road in 2019 and 7-3 in their last 10 games. The tarps will be off on Mount Davis and the crowd could be up to 59,000-plus fans on Wednesday night to cheer the Athletics on to victory and into the AL Playoffs. The Coliseum can be an intimidating place for a visiting team.

The difference on Saturday night

It was a home run by Ramon Laureno that made the difference for the Athletics on Saturday night. Laureno hit his 24th HR of the season off Seattle pitcher Marco Gonzales in the top of the third inning with two out and count of 3-2. The ball traveled 392-feet over the left-field wall.

The A’s have hit 35 home runs versus the Mariners this season tying their franchise record for the most home runs in a single season against a single opponent. Oakland also hit 35 home runs against the Rangers this season.

Anderson gets the win

Brett Anderson was credited with the win. He now a 13-9 record for the season with a 3.89 ERA. Anderson worked 5.0 innings allowing no runs off three hits. He walked one and struck out three Mariners.

“I was willing to let him go out for the sixth. He got a little bit of elbow tightness so we took him out. But, I mean, good stuff. The best [velocity] of the year. I know it’s been eight, or nine or ten days or whatever. But we saw some 94s, some 93s, it looked good. (He) just felt a little something after the fifth. We didn’t want to push that,” said A’s manager Bob Melvin.

Luzardo gets the save

Jesus Luzardo worked 2.0 innings to earn his second save of the year. He allowed no runs off one hit. Luzardo walked none and struck out three.

A’s manager Bob Melvin said, “(He was) pretty calm. And we’ve seen him, in bases loaded nobody out situations in Texas too. I don’t think the nerves are really there. (He) hits a guy, then makes good pitches with his breaking balls in the last at-bat. And (Tim) Lopes is
swinging pretty good too. That’s kind of how we look at it today, we didn’t want him throwing too many pitches, but as long as he was under 30, we felt good about it. Now, three days rest for him as well…”

Melvin on Wild Card Home Field Advantage

“There’s going to be 50,000 people in Oakland, I got a feeling. When we get that bigger crowd at home, they have an effect. So, we’re excited about going home in front of our fans. There’s a great bond between us and the fans there, and they can get pretty loud.”

The Fantasy Football Doctors Podcast: NFL Week Four

Published on September 28, 2019September 28, 2019 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

The Fantasy Football Doctors Podcast: NFL Week Four – Let the byes begin!

Hosts: Dr. Vasu Vaddiparty & Dr. Charlie O. Mallonee

Is this the week that Jared Goff breaks out?
Daniel Jones should be a start versus Washington
Philip Rivers is going to have a big first half
Need a QB? Look at Jacoby Bissett
Look for Marlon Mack to run over the Raiders
Think twice before benching Frank Gore

This is just some of the advice the doctors have for you in order for you to win your fantasy matchups this Sunday. If you want to win, push play now!

A’s get back into the win column by beating the Royals 2-1 on Tuesday night

Published on September 18, 2019September 18, 2019 by Charlie O. MalloneeLeave a comment

By Charlie O. Mallonee

The Oakland A’s got back into the win column on Tuesday night as they downed the Kansas City Royals 2-1 at the Coliseum. The A’s were down 1-0 going into the bottom of the seventh inning when they bit back at the upstart Royals.

Matt Olson hit a 450-foot home run into the center-field stands off a 2-1 pitch from the Royals starting pitcher Jorge Lopez. Lopez then had the most logical response to Olson’s home run — he hit Mark Canha with a pitch. No, Canha was not pleased.

With Canha at first, Seth Brown doubled to left-center field and drove Canha home to score what would prove to be the winning run of the game. Brown, who has been “clutch” for Oakland since being called up to the majors, made Lopez pay for his stupidity of hitting the next batter after Olson hit his home run. Lopez should have been ejected from the contest.

Focus on the A’s

Oakland is now 24-8 (.750) versus the AL Central Division this season.
Liam Hendriks, who picked up his 23rd save of the season, has struck out 116 batters as a relief pitcher to set a franchise record. The old record was 115 and was set by Rollie Fingers in 1975.
A.J. Puk earned his second career win in this game. He has pitched 2.0 scoreless innings in each of his last outings. He gave up one hit and struck out two batters on Tuesday night.
Matt Olson now leads the A’s and American League first basemen with 35 home runs (that is after missing the first six weeks of the season due to injury).
Mark Canha has now been hit by a pitch 17 times this season. That ties him with Shin-soo Choo for the most HBP in the American League.
Relief pitcher Joakim Soria has not allowed a run in his last five appearances.
The A’s are now in Wild Card Slot #1 with a two-game lead over Tampa Bay, who is in Wild Card Slot #2. Cleveland is 1/2 game behind Tampa Bay for the second Wild Card spot.

Spotlight on the Royals

Royals starting pitcher Jorge Lopez has allowed three or fewer runs in each of his last three starts.
Cheslor Cuthbert recorded his first multi-hit game since August 8th in Detroit. He is hitting .341 with three doubles and one HR versus AL West teams this season.
Hunter Dozier is batting .345 with four doubles, a triple and seven RBI in the month of September.

Up next

The Royals and A’s meet in a getaway day game tomorrow that will get underway at 12:37 PM PDT. The Royals will send LHP Danny Duffy to the mound. He has a 6-6 record on the season with a 4.55 ERA. He had a no-decision in his last start in Houston.

The A’s will start RHP Homer Bailey, who they obtained from the Royals, on Wednesday afternoon. Bailey is 13-8 on the year with a 4.76 ERA. He won his last start versus the Astros in Houston.