Elephant Rumblings: Welcome The Royals To Town

TL;DR

The Athletics are set to face the Kansas City Royals in a three-game series starting tonight. The Royals are struggling with an 11-17 record, while the A's are expected to use a mix of pitchers including Luis Severino and Jacob Lopez.

Key points

Athletics face Royals in a three-game series
Royals currently have an 11-17 record
Luis Severino expected to pitch in series finale
Jacob Lopez needs to improve his performance
First pitch is at 6:40 PM

AthleticsKansas City Royals

ARLINGTON, TX - APRIL 25: Jacob Wilson #5 of the Athletics plays defense at shortstop during the game between the Athletics and the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on Saturday, April 25, 2026 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Courtney Kramer/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images Morning A’s fans. Yesterday’s off day allowed the Athletics to travel back home to Sacramento and prepare for their next series, a three-game matchup against the Kansas City Royals. This’ll be the first time these two teams face each other this year. Kansas City is off to a slow start at just 11-17 so far in the early going. That puts them last in the AL Central, even behind the Chicago White Sox. Not a great place to be if you’re KC, though they didn’t exactly enter this season as obvious Wild Card contenders, never mind the division. While the Royals have announced their starters schedule for the series, the A’s have yet to make any official assignments for their starting pitchers for this series. That said, we can expect to see some combination of Luis Severino, , and in this series. Severino is coming off a quality start last time out when he stiffled the Texas Rangers’ offense for six+ innings of work, allowing just one run his last time out. That’s more of the production that the team was hoping for from their veteran starter. If the team doesn’t alter their rotation order, Sevy would line up to get the ball in the series finale. We know that Civale won’t be getting bumped from the rotation anytime soon thanks to his quality start to his season, but as for Lopez he might not have quite as long a leash. The left-hander is coming off a solid start where he pitched into the sixth inning in but he’s still got an ERA close to 6. With other options waiting in the wings in Triple-A Lopez needs to string together a few quality starts if he wants to resolidify his place in the rotation. He currently lines up to get the ball this evening to kick off the series, but the fact that the team hasn’t announced its scheduled starters for this series could be a sign that the coaching staff is considering making a change in the backend of the rotation. We’ll see who gets the ball this evening. Whoever gets the call will be going up against KC lefty Bubic. First pitch is at 6:40 this evening. Have a great Tuesday, guys.

Q&A

What is the current record of the Kansas City Royals?

The Kansas City Royals have a current record of 11-17.

Who are the expected starting pitchers for the Athletics against the Royals?

The Athletics are expected to use Luis Severino, Aaron Civale, and Jacob Lopez as their starting pitchers.

When does the Athletics vs. Royals series start?

The Athletics will start their series against the Royals tonight at 6:40 PM.

What challenges is Jacob Lopez facing in his pitching performance?

Jacob Lopez has an ERA close to 6 and needs to string together quality starts to secure his place in the rotation.