NY Yankees vs Kansas City Royals Prediction 4/17/26 MLB Picks Today

The Kansas City Royals and the New York Yankees meet Friday in MLB action from Yankee Stadium. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees prediction.

Starting Pitching Matchup

The Kansas City Royals will send out Michael Wacha and Wacha is 2-0 with a 0.43 ERA and 17 strikeouts this season. In his last five starts against the Yankees, Wacha is 1-1 with a 2.35 ERA and 24 strikeouts. The Yankees will start Cam Schlittler here and Schlittler is 2-1 with a 2.49 ERA and 30 strikeouts this season. This will be Schlittler’s first career start against the Royals.

Kansas City Royals Recap

The Kansas City Royals come into this game looking to bounce back from a 10-9 loss at the hands of the Tigers last time out to sit at 7-12 this season. After this series, the Royals will head home for a series against the Baltimore Orioles.

Royals Lose 4 In A Row

Kyle Isbel has 13 hits with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs while Jonathan India has 2 home runs and 8 RBIs on the year. Jac Caglianone has 15 hits with 4 doubles and a triple while Bobby Witt Jr. has 20 hits with 5 and 8 RBIs and Vinnie Pasquantino’s added 11 hits with a double, a triple, a home run and 8 RBIs on the year. Maikel Garcia also has 20 hits with 5 doubles, 2 home runs and 9 RBIs this season. Carter Jensen’s also chipped in 4 home runs and 10 RBIs this season.

New York Yankees Recap

The New York Yankees come into this game looking to bounce back from an 11-4 loss at the hands of the Angels last time out to sit at 10-9 this season. After this series, the Yankees will head on the road for a rivalry series against the Boston Red Sox.

Yankees Alternate Wins & Losses In 5 Straight

Giancarlo Stanton has 18 hits with 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 10 RBIs while Ben Rice has 18 hits with 6 doubles, 5 home runs and 14 RBIs and Aaron Judge has 17 hits with 2 doubles, 8 home runs and 14 RBIs. Cody Bellinger also has 16 hits with 2 doubles, a triple, a home run and 6 RBIs. Jazz Chisholm Jr. also has 12 hits with 5 doubles as well on the year.

Kansas City Royals @ New York Yankees Betting Trends: April 17, 2026

• Probable Starting Pitcher: Cam Schlittler      Record this season: 2-1      ERA: 2.49
• Home Record: 0-0
• Last 5 against Royals: –

Why the New York Yankees will win

• The Yankees have won each of their last 16 home games against the Royals following a loss.
• The Royals have lost each of their last five road games.
• The Yankees have covered the run line in five of their last six games against AL Central opponents following a home loss.
• The Royals have failed to cover the run line in eight of their last nine Friday road games against American League opponents.
• The Yankees have won the first inning in three of their last four night games at Yankee Stadium.
• The Yankees have led after 5 innings in each of their last five games against AL Central opponents.
• The Royals have trailed after 3 innings in each of their last five road games against AL East opponents.

• Probable Starting Pitcher: Michael Wacha      Record this season: 2-0      ERA: 0.43
• Road Record: 1-0
• Last 5 against Yankees: 0-2

Why the Kansas City Royals will win

• The Yankees have lost eight of their last 10 games as favorites after playing the previous day.
• The Royals have won four of their last five games as road underdogs against AL East opponents following a loss.
• The Yankees have failed to cover the run line in each of their last 10 games after playing the previous day.
• The underdogs have covered the run line in each of the Yankees’ last nine games.
• The Royals have led after 5 innings in each of their last three night games against AL East opponents.

Total Runs Facts

• Seven of the Royals’ last eight games as road underdogs have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• Each of the last four games between the Royals and Yankees at Yankee Stadium have gone UNDER the total runs line.
• The ‘Inning 1 UNDER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Royals’ last eight night games.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in seven of the Yankees’ last eight night games at Yankee Stadium.

New York Yankees Player Prop Facts

• Aaron Judge has hit at least one home run in four of the Yankees’ last five games.
• Anthony Volpe has recorded at least one hit in 14 of his last 15 appearances against AL Central opponents that held a losing record.
• Aaron Judge ranks T1st in the league in Home Runs (8) this season.

Kansas City Royals Player Prop Facts

• Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded at least one hit in 20 of his last 21 appearances in night games against AL teams that held a winning record.
• Michael Wacha has recorded a win in four of his last five road appearances against AL opponents.
• Lane Thomas has hit a home run in each of his last two appearances in night games against AL East teams that held a winning record.
• Bobby Witt Jr. ranks T2nd in the league in Steals (8) this season.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Yankees rank T2nd in the league for steals this season (25).
• The Yankees rank 28th in the league for hits this season (132).
• The Royals rank 27th in the league for hits this season (135).
• The Royals rank 27th in the league for RBIs this season (61).

Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees Prediction

I’m on the under in this game.This is just a fantastic pitching matchup with Wacha and Schlittler going here as Wacha has fantastic numbers in his career against New York, but I’m not trusting the Royals offense to back him up here. I think this is going to be a low-scoring battle, so give me the under here.