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FinalFinal lineupsAL West / AL Central

Athletics 5, Kansas City Royals 9

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

7:40 PM ET · Kauffman StadiumGame-day snapshot Aug 17, 10:40 PM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 9, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score25
Athletics
64–98 · 4th AL West · T-Score 25
5
5–9
FINAL
Kansas City Royals
69–93 · 5th AL Central · T-Score 31
9
T-Score31
FINAL

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherRoyalsWacha leads Barnett in P-Score (61 vs 26), WHIP and last-5 ERA.
Offense vs handEvenThe handedness splits are nearly even, with less than a .010 difference in OPS.
LineupRoyalsKansas's official lineup includes 5 left-handed bats against the opposing starter.
BullpenRoyalsKansas has allowed fewer runs from the bullpen on the season ERA.
Recent formAthleticsAthletics has won 4 of its last 10 and owns the stronger recent run differential.

Starting pitchers

ATH
Mason Barnett RHP
Mason Barnett
Athletics
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
6.16
223rd
WHIP
1.45
215th
K/9
8.53
70th
BB/9
4.74
216th
P-Score26i
FIP
–
HR/9
2.61
225th
OPS/R
–
IP
38.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
8.78
QUALITY
START %
0%
(0 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
KC
Michael Wacha RHP
Michael Wacha
Kansas City Royals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.46
39th
WHIP
1.15
36th
K/9
6.99
164th
BB/9
2.45
46th
P-Score61i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.08
142nd
OPS/R
–
IP
150.2
Last 5 starts
ERA
2.30
QUALITY
START %
80%
(4 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
How the starters differ
·Wacha allows fewer baserunners, with a 1.15 WHIP compared with 1.45.
·Wacha enters with a 3.46 ERA compared with Barnett's 6.16.
·Wacha allows the lower home-run rate: 1.08 vs 2.61 per nine.
·Barnett owns a 8.5 K/9 compared with Wacha's 7.0.
Advanced starter metricsERA−, FIP, WAR, career vs opponent
MetricBarnettWachaNote
Career vs opponent– ERA, 1 GS7.20 ERA, 1 GSCareer history against this opponent.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Barnett arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam49%95.0
Slider18%87.4
Sweeper14%83.6
Curveball10%79.1
Changeup8%85.4
Wacha arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam28%93.1
Changeup25%80.6
Cutter15%89.5
Sinker14%93.2
Curveball10%75.9
Slider9%85.0

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Athletics vs RHP (Michael Wacha)
16th
in MLB
0.717OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Royals vs RHP (Mason Barnett)
13th
in MLB
0.727OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
AthleticsOfficial lineupvs RHP Michael Wacha
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Wacha (BvP)
1Jeff McNeilL2B44.6819.7054-for-9Very small sample
2Henry BolteRCF63.76411.739No MLB historyNo history
3Lawrence ButlerLRF61.72017.7342-for-5Very small sample
4Zack GelofR3B69.79722.7640-for-2Very small sample
5Carlos CortesLRF56.71510.7120-for-2Very small sample
6Tommy WhiteR1B31.6003.590No MLB historyNo history
7Donovan WaltonL2B58.8069.868No MLB historyNo history
8Alika WilliamsRSS42.7354.675No MLB historyNo history
9Brian ServenRC—.5995.568No MLB historyNo history
1Jeff McNeil 2B · L.264 / .681 · 9 HRvs hand .705 · 4-for-9 · Very small sample44H-Score2Henry Bolte CF · R.277 / .764 · 11 HRvs hand .739 · No MLB history · No history63H-Score3Lawrence Butler RF · L.237 / .720 · 17 HRvs hand .734 · 2-for-5 · Very small sample61H-Score4Zack Gelof 3B · R.256 / .797 · 22 HRvs hand .764 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample69H-Score5Carlos Cortes RF · L.251 / .715 · 10 HRvs hand .712 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample56H-Score6Tommy White 1B · R.254 / .600 · 3 HRvs hand .590 · No MLB history · No history31H-Score7Donovan Walton 2B · L.261 / .806 · 9 HRvs hand .868 · No MLB history · No history58H-Score8Alika Williams SS · R.270 / .735 · 4 HRvs hand .675 · No MLB history · No history42H-Score9Brian Serven C · R.175 / .599 · 5 HRvs hand .568 · No MLB history · No history—H-Score
Kansas City RoyalsOfficial lineupvs RHP Mason Barnett
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Barnett (BvP)
1Carter JensenLC76.79027.8371-for-1Very small sample
2Bobby Witt Jr.RSS78.80018.7830-for-3Very small sample
3Jac CaglianoneLRF75.83423.8820-for-2Very small sample
4Maikel GarciaR3B52.7153.6501-for-3Very small sample
5Vinnie PasquantinoL1B69.76117.8260-for-3Very small sample
6Salvador PerezRDH56.65721.6280-for-2Very small sample
7Michael MasseyL2B60.73513.721No MLB historyNo history
8Isaac CollinsSLF51.6416.660No MLB historyNo history
9Kyle IsbelLCF36.5916.652No MLB historyNo history
1Carter Jensen C · L.239 / .790 · 27 HRvs hand .837 · 1-for-1 · Very small sample76H-Score2Bobby Witt Jr. SS · R.281 / .800 · 18 HRvs hand .783 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample78H-Score3Jac Caglianone RF · L.289 / .834 · 23 HRvs hand .882 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample75H-Score4Maikel Garcia 3B · R.268 / .715 · 3 HRvs hand .650 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample52H-Score5Vinnie Pasquantino 1B · L.249 / .761 · 17 HRvs hand .826 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample69H-Score6Salvador Perez DH · R.229 / .657 · 21 HRvs hand .628 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample56H-Score7Michael Massey 2B · L.274 / .735 · 13 HRvs hand .721 · No MLB history · No history60H-Score8Isaac Collins LF · S.213 / .641 · 6 HRvs hand .660 · No MLB history · No history51H-Score9Kyle Isbel CF · L.224 / .591 · 6 HRvs hand .652 · No MLB history · No history36H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseATHATH·KCKC
AVG.245 16th.248 8th
OPS.719 15th.718 17th
Home runs194 11th170 21st
Runs699 20th690 22nd
OBP.317 16th.316 18th
SLG.402 12th.402 14th
PitchingATHATH·KCKC
1stMLB rank30th
ERA5.51vs4.77
ATHKC
WHIP1.51vs1.41
ATHKC
K/98.5vs7.4
ATHKC
HR Allowed247vs210
ATHKC
BullpenATHATH·KCKC
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA5.45vs4.79
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.49vs1.43
no league rank
Saves39vs38
ATHKC
ResultsATHATH·KCKC
+10130th
Run differential
+19528th
64–98 Record69–93
4–6 Last 103–7
Last 10 games
Athletics (4–6)
W
L
W
L
L
L
W
W
L
L
Kansas City Royals (3–7)
W
L
W
L
L
L
L
W
L
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
4—2
6 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Athletics?+
Mason Barnett (6.16 ERA, 1–3) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Royals?+
Michael Wacha (3.46 ERA, 5–8) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
7:40 PM ET at Kauffman Stadium.
Where is the game being played?+
Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Athletics and Royals performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Royals 2–4 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Mason Barnett is at 26; Michael Wacha is at 61. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.