The New York Yankees own the best record in the American League and are on the road on Tuesday facing a Kansas City Royals team that is in second place in the American League Central standings and looking to make up ground on the Cleveland Guardians.
New York Yankees (-148, 9.5) vs. Kansas City Royals
Brady Singer gets the start on the mound for Kansas City, who has a 2.76 ERA with 9.1 strikeouts to 2.8 walks per nine innings but is perhaps a bit fortunate to have an ERA as low as it is with his fielding independent at 3.67.
The Yankees lineup entered Monday’s series opener fourth in the league in scoring on the road with 5.1 runs per game but might have Juan Soto playing at less than 100 percent as he is dealing with a forearm injury.
Even without Soto in the lineup on Saturday and Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Aaron Judge extended his MLB lead in home runs with three in those two games, as the Yankees as a team are second in the league in home runs with nearly 1.5 per game both at home and on the road.
Getting the start at pitcher for New York is Marcus Stroman, who has to try to tame a Royals’ offense that entered Monday leading all MLB teams with nearly 5.7 runs per game at home.
While Stroman has a 3.04 ERA, his 4.84 fielding independent makes him a candidate for regression as he is giving up 3.8 walks and 1.2 home runs per nine innings while getting just 6.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
Entering Monday both bullpens were also experiencing recent struggles with the Yankees ranked 19th in bullpen ERA during the past 30 days while the Royals’ bullpen ranked 24th in this category.
With Stroman due for regression and the Royals’ offense as high-powered as it is at home, the Royals will get a big win for their playoff aspirations on Tuesday.
The Play: Royals +124
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