The New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals meet in game one of their three game series in MLB action from Kauffman Stadium on Friday night.

Yankees Fail To Complete Sweep

The New York Yankees come into this one failing to complete the three-game sweep of the Blue Jays on Thursday, losing the series finale by a final score of 6-0. The loss dropped New York to 81-78 on the year, guaranteeing at least a .500 season. Gleyber Torres leads the Yankees with 159 hits and a .270 batting average along with a .344 OBP and 66 RBIs while Aaron Judge has a team-high 37 home runs and 75 RBIs so far this season. Torres also has a team-high 28 doubles while Anthony Volpe leads New York with 4 triples. Carlos Rodon will start for the Yankees here and is 3-7 with a 5.74 ERA and 64 strikeouts this season.

Royals Swept By Tigers

The Kansas City Royals are just trying to build some positive vibes going into 2024, but were swept by Detroit to start the week after a 7-3 loss to the Tigers on Thursday. The loss dropped the Royals to 54-105 on the year as a result. Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 172 hits, 29 home runs, 28 doubles, 10 triples and 93 RBIs along with a .273 batting average while Salvador Perez is second for the Royals in homers with 22 this season. MJ Melendez also has a team-high 29 doubles but has the dubious distinction of leading KC with 169 strikeouts this season. Jordan Lyles will get the start for the Royals here and is 5-17 with a 6.24 ERA and 116 strikeouts this season.

Chris’ Pick

I’m looking at the over here. I simply don’t trust this pitching matchup as far as I can throw it, as Rodon’s stunk for much of the year and Lyles has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball for all of 2023. I think the offenses come to play even with neither team having anything of substance to play for here so give me the over.