AthleticsvsKansas City Royals
ATH 5/KC 9
Things to say
The Kansas City Royals beat the Athletics 9-5 at Kauffman Stadium on Monday.
01
opener
Royals took care of business at home, 9-5. Bats were alive all night. Nice little getaway-day type win even if the pitching got a little sloppy late.
02
key player
The heart of that KC order was the whole story — kept turning the lineup over and just kept the pressure on. Nine runs doesn't happen by accident.
03
hot take
Honestly the A's kind of bullpenned themselves out of it. You give a lineup that many free passes, you're gonna get burned.
04
deep cut
Both these clubs are way under .500 and playing out the string, so it's basically a battle of who's less checked out in August. KC clearly wanted it more.
05
exit
Anyway, we'll see if the Royals can carry it into the next one — momentum's a funny thing this time of year.
The recap
The Royals put a nine-spot on the board and cruised past the A's 9-5 at Kauffman on a getaway day. Kansas City's bats did the heavy lifting, working the count and cashing in every time Oakland's pitching left one over the plate.
The A's kept it close early, but once the Royals broke it open the bullpen couldn't stem the tide. Two teams going nowhere in the standings, but for one afternoon the heart of the Royals order made it look easy.