The New York Yankees (81-78) will conclude their regular season with a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals (54-105) that begins on Thursday. Carlos Rodon (3-7, 5.74 ERA) gets the ball for the Yankees in the series opener and will go against Jordan Lyles (5-17, 6.24). First pitch from Kauffman Stadium is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.
New York enters as -142 moneyline favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, while Kansas City is the +120 underdog. The run total is set at 9.5.
Yankees-Royals picks: Friday, September 29
Injury report
Yankees
Out: RP Keynan Middleton (right shoulder inflammation)
Royals
N/A
Starting pitchers
Carlos Rodon vs. Jordan Lyles
When the Yankees signed Rodon to a six-year, $162 million contract in the offseason, they imagined him as the second ace of their staff who could help lead the team on a deep run in October. Instead, he’s taking the mound in a meaningless game in an attempt to get his ERA under 5.50. Nothing has gone right this year for the lefty, who has only made 13 starts this season after missing three months of the season with injuries. He’s gone six-plus and allowed three earned runs in his last two starts, and has a 5.40 ERA in September.
While Lyles has one of the worst ERAs in all of baseball (6.24), he also leads the sport in complete games (three), so he’s been a solid innings-eater for a team mired in a deep rebuild. He’s coming off one of his best starts of the year (five scoreless innings against the Astros), but has a 6.55 ERA overall in his last eight starts.
Over/Under pick
The over is the way to go here. Rodon’s looked like a shell of himself this season while Lyles has eaten innings at the expense of his ERA. While neither offense is very good, they should get plenty of good pitches to hit tonight.
Pick: Over 9.5
Moneyline pick
The Yankees have five batters in their lineup with career averages of .300 or better against Lyles. That should help in a game that i’m expecting to be a slugfest.
Pick: Yankees -142