A’s vs. Royals game thread

The battle for Worst of the Worst continues tonight with the first game of a three-game set between the Oakland A’s and the Kansas City Royals. The last time the two teams faced off, Oakland took the first two games of the series and put themselves in a tie with Kansas City for the league’s worst record. Since their loss on the last game of that series, the A’s have firmly held on to their cellar-dwelling title and currently have a five-game lead over (under?) the Royals. Neither team is in danger of falling out of the bottom four, which is great for their 2024 draft odds — the Royal’s are 10 games back from the fourth-worst Chicago White Sox — so there’s no reason for either team to not go all-out and try to prove they’re not as bad as the other.

The A’s will have their staff ace Paul Blackburn on the mound for this critical battle. Ryan Noda will also be making his return from the IL while Tyler Soderstrom is back at AAA with some homework to do before his next callup.

Meanwhile, the Royals will open with lefty Tucker Davidson, who’s capable of pitching multiple innings but has maxed out at four outs since joining the Royals from the Los Angeles Angels at the trade deadline.