Today at 4:05 p.m. ET, the Kansas City Royals (56-52) and Oakland Athletics (66-42) play the middle contest of their three-game series live from the O.co Coliseum in Oakland. The game can be live streamed here. Kansas City fans can hear all of the action on KCSP 610 while Oakland fans can do the same on 95.7 The Game.
Jon Lester makes his Athletics debut today following a blockbuster trade ahead of the MLB's non-waiver deadline on Thursday that sent Lester and outfielder Jonny Gomes to Oakland in exchange for leftfielder Yoenis Cespedes, who headed to the Red Sox in Boston as a return.
Lester is 10-7 and ranks fifth in the American League with a 2.52 ERA this season. His acquisition showed that the A's are all-in for a World Series bid this campaign as he becomes a free agent at the end of it. The Royals send Jason Vargas to the mound to oppose Lester, and he is 8-4 with a 3.31 ERA this season.
Kansas City continues a six-game road trip after opening it up with a 1-0 shutout win over the Athletics on Friday night while Oakland plays the second game of its 10-game homestand.
The Athletics enter play with the best record in the MLB and lead the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by one game in the American League West while the Royals are in second place in the AL Central and trail the division-leading Detroit Tigers by four games. Kansas City sits 2.5 games out of wild-card contention as well.
Lester had mixed emotions when being introduced as an Athletic on Friday as he leaves behind Boston and embarks for Oakland. The 2013 World Champion Red Sox are in last place in the AL East while Oakland has a legitimate shot of winning it all this year.
"Obviously leaving Boston after being there for so long is difficult, but I'm excited to be here," Lester said via MLB.com. "Going from a team that hasn't done so well this year to the team with the best record in baseball is exciting."
Vargas, his counterpart, will start for the first time since July 8 but is trying not to get too amped up.
"I'm not going to say I'm antsy because I'm not a particularly antsy person. But yeah, it's the only extremely fun part of my job. Otherwise I just sit around to watch. Definitely looking forward to pitching and I'm ready to go," Vargas told MLB.com.
Vargas will look to shut down an Oakland lineup that is flanked by outfielder Brandon Moss, who is hitting a team-best .257 and is tied with third baseman Josh Donaldson for the team lead with 23 homers. Donaldson is hitting just .248, but he leads the team with 76 RBI -- which ranks fifth in the league -- and is third in the AL with 72 runs scored.
Kansas City responds with a speedy lineup that ranks second in baseball in stolen bases with 90. Shortstop Alcides Escobar (23) and centerfielder Jarrod Dyson (22) rank fourth and fifth in the AL respectfully in stolen bases. Escobar leads the team with a .275 batting average while third baseman Mike Moustakas paces it in homers (13) and second baseman Omar Infante leads it in RBI (49).
Jon Lester makes his Athletics debut when the A's host the Royals this afternoon at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland.
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