Rating: 8/10*

The Oakland Athletics have won eight of the nine last meetings in this series, and I think their success against the Royals will continue here in the opener of a three-game series Monday night.

Jharel Cotton (5-9, 5.72 ERA) takes the ball for Oakland. Cotton is 0-1 with an 8.59 ERA through his last three starts, but he knows how to handle KC. The right-hander is 1-0 with a 0.71 ERA in two career starts against the Royals and held them scoreless through seven innings of two-hit ball earlier this season.

The Royals turn to Jake Junis (4-2, 4.70 ERA), a 24-year-old rookie right-hander who has been called up from the minors for his eighth start and 11th appearance of the season. Junis was terrific when he held the Mariners to one run in eight innings on August 6, but does he have the consistency to put up another performance like that tonight?

I think not, and my selection is an 8* play on Oakland Athletics ML.