Whit Merrifield and the Kansas City Royals will take on the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium in a Friday night game. Fox Sports Kansas City will showcase this AL matchup and the game gets underway at 7:05 p.m. ET.
Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees Odds
Kansas City (+185) is entering this game as the underdog to New York (-200) and Vegas has set the Over/Under for this night game at nine runs (-115 for the under and -105 for the over). There’s a runline of Royals +1.5 (-120) and Yankees -1.5 (+100) for this matchup.
The Yankees are 8-10 straight up (SU) and 9-8 against the spread (ATS). They’ve lost 9.4 units for bettors taking the moneyline and 0.5 units ATS. New York has a 3-4 ATS mark over its last seven games and the under has hit in four of those seven. The Royals have gone 7-12 SU this year and are 10-8 ATS. Overall, the club has lost 5.9 units for moneyline bettors in this young season, but have gained 0.8 units ATS. Kansas City has covered the spread five times in its last seven games and the total has gone under in four of those seven.
Yankees games have an over/under record of 8-9 thus far in 2019. Kansas City has an over/under record of 11-6-1.
Right-hander Jakob Junis is projected to start for Kansas City. Junis (1-1, 6.14 ERA) has recorded 24 strikeouts in 22 innings so far. He has yet to face New York this year, but he did make two starts against the Yankees in 2018, compiling a 1-1 record against them with a 4.50 ERA and six strikeouts.
The Yankees will turn to lefty CC Sabathia (0-0, 0.00 ERA), who has three strikeouts and zero walks as well as a 0.20 WHIP. Sabathia made two starts against the team in 2018, putting together a 0-1 record in 2018, posting a 0-1 record with a 3.72 ERA and 13 strikeouts.
Kansas City’s pitchers have allowed 5.1 runs per game and its starters own a 4.56 ERA, 1.30 WHIP and 8.78 K/9. The bullpen has managed an ERA of 6.06, along with a WHIP of 1.30 and a K-per-9 of 8.52.
The Royals offense has slashed .245/.322/.427 on its way to 4.7 runs scored per game this year, including 4.9 runs per game over the team’s last 10 games and 4.8 per game over the team’s last five outings (3-2 SU).
Second baseman Whit Merrifield and left fielder Alex Gordon have led Kansas City’s hitters. Merrifield is slashing .313/.341/.488 with 25 hits, nine RBIs, 14 runs and five steals. Gordon is hitting .328 with 22 hits, three homers, 16 RBIs and 13 runs scored.
In the other dugout, New York’s pitchers have allowed 4.0 runs per game overall in 2019. The club’s starting pitching staff has an ERA of 3.97, a WHIP of 1.25 and a strikeouts-per-nine of 9.7. The bullpen has a 3.69 ERA, 1.31 WHIP and 10.7 K/9.
The New York offense has produced 4.8 runs per contest, including 5.3 per game over its last 10 games and 4.0 per game over its last five. The team has hit .201/.259/.338 over its last five contests and is 3-2 SU during that stretch.
The Yankees’ batters have been led by second baseman DJ LeMahieu and right fielder Aaron Judge. LeMahieu is hitting .328/.382/.410 with 20 hits, eight RBIs and 10 runs scored, and Judge’s line is .273/.395/.470 with four homers, 10 RBIs and 11 runs.
The Royals have lost 2.1 units and are 2-2 ATS when facing a left-handed starting pitcher this year. The over has cashed in two of those games, as opposed to one that’ve gone under in such games. On the other hand, the Yankees have lost 6.8 units and are 8-6 ATS when facing a righty starter. The over’s hit in eight of those games, compared to six that went under.
Royals at Yankees MLB Pick
Predictions: SU Winner – Yankees, ATS Winner – Royals, O/U – UNDER
Betting Notes
- The over has cashed in three of Kansas City’s last seven outings.
- New York has posted 20.5 Runs + Hits + Errors per game over its last 10 outings and 16.4 over its last five.
- The Royals have hit 16 home runs in their last 10 games, including nine over their last five.
- The Royals have a total OPS of .750 this season, including an OPS of .675 when facing left-handed pitchers. The Yankees’ OPS stands at .775 overall and .635 against southpaws.
