CC Sabathia (1-5, 5.20 ERA) and the New York Yankees (21-16) are in Kansas City to meet Danny Duffy (2-2, 5.67 ERA) and the Royals (23-13) in a game that could be high scoring. This is the second of a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals won the last game 12-1 and Kansas City leads the series 1-0. The game starts at 7:10 p.m. ET on Saturday, May. 16 and will air on PIX11 and FSN-KC.
In his last start, Duffy pitched 3.2 innings, giving up six runs, striking out four and walking six in an 8-2 loss to the Rangers. Lorenzo Cain (.326, 26 Rs, 3 HRs, 19 RBIs, 6 SBs) played well again yesterday, going 3 for 4 with two runs and five RBIs. In his career against the Royals, Sabathia is 18-11 with a 3.25 ERA. He meets a strong Kansas City offense that’s batting .291. Mark Teixeira (.250, 18 Rs, 11 HRs, 28 RBIs) has been hitting the ball well, going 2 for 3 yesterday.
Kansas City is a -116 favorite in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at eight runs. The Royals are 11-8 as the favorite and have an overall money line of +861. The Royals lead the AL in hits with 10.1 per game. Kansas City’s pitching staff will be looking to pick it up in this one after recent struggles. The Royals have given up an average of 4.8 runs to opponents in their last 10 games, above their season average of 3.7 runs per game.
On the other side, the Yankees have a record of 10-8 when they are the underdog and are +558 overall with the money line. They have played poorly as the underdog as of late. They managed a 1-3 record when playing as the underdog and an SU record of 5-5. New York is one of the top home-run-hitting teams in the league with 44 home runs. Switching gears to New York’s pitching staff, they allow just 2.7 walks per game, good for fourth in the AL.
The only other game between the two teams went Kansas City’s way. This game will feature Sabathia (LHP) on the mound against the Royals, who have a 5-1 home and 9-4 overall record when they take on a left-handed starter. The left-handed Duffy will take the mound against the Yankees, who have a 5-5 record against lefty starters this season.
Predictions: SU Winner – KC, O/U – Over
Notes
When leading after 7 innings, Kansas City is 10-5, while New York is 8-10.
The Royals are coming into this game after allowing two walks during their last outing. The Yankees have a 7-9 record when opponents give up that many walks or fewer.
It looks like the Royals have a slight leg up on the Yankees, as the Royals have won their last two games while the Yankees have lost their last four.
When they outhit their opponents, the Royals are 20-4. The Yankees have a 13-2 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking sixth, New York sits in the top 10 of the league in runs, scoring 166 this season. Kansas City ranks in the top five at second with 185.
Ranking 29th, Kansas City is near the bottom of the league in walks, notching 77 this season. New York ranks in the top five at fourth with 125.
When the Royals hit at least one home run, they are 15-6, well-matched with the Yankees who are 17-9 when hitting one or more homers.
