Oakland @ Kansas City preview

Oakland at Kansas City

Last Meeting ( Jul 17, 2010 ) Oakland 6, Kansas City 5

The Oakland Athletics are looking for a road sweep of the Kansas City Royals but will have to get past Mr. Day Game to achieve it.

Brian Bannister gets the start for Kansas City on Sunday afternoon. Bannister transforms from struggling major league pitcher to big-time ace whenever he takes the mound in the daylight.

Bannister is 4-0 with a 2.37 earned-run average in six day starts this season to raise his daytime career record to 21-8.

By contrast, Bannister has a 16-37 career record at night. This season, he is 3-7 with a 7.45 ERA in 12 evening starts.

That makes finishing off a three-game sweep a tough task for Oakland, which has won four straight games and could even its season mark at .500 with a victory today. Kansas City has lost five consecutive games.

Bannister’s Jekyll and Hyde act leaves him with a 7-7 record and 5.56 ERA on the season.

His last victory came June 23 during an afternoon game. No big deal, you say?

Making the win noteworthy is that he outdueled Washington Nationals rookie sensation Stephen Strasburg by throwing six scoreless innings in Kansas City’s 1-0 victory.

Since then, Bannister has allowed 13 earned runs in 17 innings covering three starts. He lost two of them and took a no-decision in the other.

Bannister is 1-4 lifetime with a 5.02 ERA in eight career starts against Oakland. He will be facing an Oakland lineup that cranked out 14 hits on Saturday in a 6-5 win.

Kevin Kouzmanoff had three RBIs while Daric Barton and Adam Rosales each had three hits. Rosales had two RBIs, including the game-winning single in the ninth off All-Star reliever Joakim Soria.

Barton’s three-hit game ended a 2-for-29 run over the previous eight games.

Kouzmanoff, Cliff Pennington and Kurt Suzuki each had two hits. Suzuki is a .357 (5-for-14) career hitter against Bannister. Outfielder Gabe Gross is batting .500 (5-for-10) against Bannister.

Oakland starter Vin Mazzaro (4-2, 3.81 ERA) has pitched well over his last four outings.

Mazzaro has allowed seven earned runs in 27 1/3 innings during the stretch, twice giving up just one run while notching victories. He wasn’t involved in the decision in his last start, giving up three runs and four hits in seven innings against the Los Angeles Angels.

Kansas City shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt hit a grand slam during Saturday’s game. It was his second slam this season and third of his career.

Betancourt has 40 RBIs on the season. His career high is 67 in 2007 with the Seattle Mariners.

Oakland right fielder Ryan Sweeney missed the first two games of the series with knee issues. Sweeney leads the A’s with a .294 average.