Royals bring 2-0 series advantage over Athletics into game 3

Aug 19, 2026, 09:02 am

Athletics (49-77, fifth in the AL West) vs. Kansas City Royals (53-74, fifth in the AL Central)

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

PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Gage Jump (5-7, 4.50 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 85 strikeouts); Royals: Seth Lugo (5-7, 4.59 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 108 strikeouts)

LINE: Royals -139, Athletics +115; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals lead 2-0 in a four-game series with the Athletics.

Kansas City is 53-74 overall and 31-30 in home games. The Royals are 25-14 in games when they did not give up a home run.

The Athletics are 49-77 overall and 26-37 in road games. The Athletics have a 36-19 record in games when they scored five or more runs.

The matchup Wednesday is the sixth time these teams square off this season. The Royals hold a 3-2 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bobby Witt Jr. has 15 home runs, 49 walks and 47 RBI while hitting .287 for the Royals. Jac Caglianone is 19 for 39 with three doubles, four home runs and 15 RBI over the past 10 games.

Zack Gelof has 12 doubles, a triple, 14 home runs and 34 RBI for the Athletics. Lawrence Butler is 9 for 37 with four home runs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 5-5, .231 batting average, 4.34 ERA, outscored by one run

Athletics: 4-6, .252 batting average, 5.51 ERA, outscored by 10 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: Nick Kurtz: 10-Day IL (thumb), 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), 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)

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