In the second of a three-game series between the Kansas City Royals (69-62) and the New York Yankees (67-63) at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium, Edinson Volquez (10-10, 4.88 ERA) and Masahiro Tanaka (11-4, 3.11 ERA) get the ball. The Royals won the last game 8-5, and Kansas City leads the series 1-0. The game gets underway at 8:15 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Aug. 30 and will air on FSKC and YES.
In his last start, Volquez pitched 5.0 innings, allowing two runs (two unearned), striking out two and walking one in a 5-2 victory over the Marlins. Kendrys Morales (.250, 47 Rs, 20 HRs, 59 RBIs) continued his strong season yesterday, going 2 for 4 with two runs and one RBI. The Yankees were also victorious the last time Tanaka pitched. He had a good outing, pitching 7.0 innings, giving up zero runs, striking out five and walking one in a 5-0 victory over the Mariners. Carlos Beltran (.292, 60 Rs, 25 HRs, 75 RBIs) has been hitting the ball well for the Yankees, going 3 for 4 yesterday with two runs, one home run, and two RBIs.
Kansas City, a +117 underdog, will look to capitalize at home against New York. Oddsmakers have set the Over/Under (O/U) at seven runs. The Royals are 36-50 as the underdog and have an overall money line of +1,021. Over their past 10 games, Kansas City’s offense has been playing lights out, averaging 5.0 runs per game, well over their season average of 4.0. Turning to the pitching and defensive side, teams routinely struggle to score runs against the Royals, who allow an AL-low 4.1 runs per game. The Royals are fifth in the AL in hits allowed with just 8.5 per game.
On the other side, the Yankees have a nice record of 44-29 when they are favored, but are -2 overall with the money line. New York has been playing better lately, averaging 5.8 runs per game, more than their season average of 4.3. The last 10 games have really brought the best out of the New York pitchers. They’ve allowed 3.2 runs per game during that span, which is lower than their season average of 4.3. They also allow just 2.5 walks per game, best in the AL.
In their previous five games this season, the Yankees have a 3-2 record. The Royals will take on a right-hander (Tanaka) in this game and have a 52-46 record against right-handed starting pitchers this season. Taking the hill against the Yankees will be the right-hander Volquez. They sport a 50-42 record against righties.
Predictions: SU Winner – NYY, O/U – Over
Notes
The Kansas City batters brought in a solid 11 hits last game. New York has a record of 10-23 when their opponents get that many hits or more.
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 two.
When they outhit their opponents, the Royals are 53-17. The Yankees have a 52-8 record when outhitting opponents.
Kansas City and New York both rank near the bottom of the league in runs. Kansas City sits at 26th with 528 runs this season and New York ranks 21st with 557.
Ranking 30th, Kansas City is at the bottom of the league in walks, notching 308 this season. New York ranks near the bottom at 24th with 368.
The Royals are 47-34 in games where they hit one or more home runs. The Yankees are 50-33 when they hit at least one homer.
