Yankees vs. Royals Odds, Picks, Predictions: Don’t Overthink This Game (April 29)
Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images. Pictured: Aaron Judge (Yankees)
- The Yankees are 8-2 in their past 10 games and now go head-to-head with the Kansas City Royals on the road.
- Nestor Cortes, who has been one of the Yanks' best pitchers, is taking the bump while the Royals are sending one of their worst to the mound.
- Nick Shlain dives into the matchup and offers a betting prediction.
Yankees vs. Royals Odds
| Yankees Odds | -200 |
| Royals Odds | +170 |
| Over/Under | 8.5 |
| Time | 8:10 p.m. ET |
| TV | Apple TV+ |
| Odds via . Get up-to-the-minute MLB odds here. | |
The New York Yankees are alone in first place in the AL East for the first time since August of the 2020 season. The Yankees are 13-6 on the season and 8-2 in their last 10 games.
It looks like the Bronx Bombers are back to being a serious contender.
The Kansas City Royals aren't in the Yankees' class this year, as they're 7-10 on the season and 5-5 in their last 10 games. Kansas City is tied for second place in the AL Central, but it doesn't seem like a serious contender this year.
These two teams begin a series in Kansas City Thursday night with Nestor Cortes on the mound for the Yankees and Kris Bubic on the bump for the Royals.
Who will get the job done?
Cortes & Offense Thriving for Yanks
Cortes has pretty much come out of nowhere to become a dark horse candidate for the AL Cy Young award. After three starts, he has a 1.15 ERA and 0.64 WHIP.
His 25 strikeouts are the most in the AL of any pitcher with only three starts. That should play against a Royals team that's dead last in all of baseball in runs scored with 52.
The Yankees' offense is also heating up lately, as it has scored 27 runs and Aaron Judge, Anthony Rizzo and Joey Gallo have each homered multiple times in their last three games.
Royals Lacking Power on Offense
The Royals just took two out of three against the Chicago White Sox on the road.
Kansas City scored six and five runs in each of its victories without hitting a home run. The Royals are 25th in all of baseball with 11 home runs on the season.
Salvador Perez carried the Royals' offense last season, as he belted 48 dingers. While he has five home runs on the season already, he alone hasn't been enough to carry them so far.
Bubic is on the mound for the Royals here, and he has really struggled so far this season. In three starts, his ERA is 14.14 and his WHIP is 3.00.
Bubic's control has been horrendous to start the year, as his BB% is 22%. His K% is only 12%, and a BB% 10% higher than his K% illustrates how much of a problem Bubic has here.
I don't think the streaking Yankees are the team Bubic will figure everything out against.
Yankees-Royals Pick
I like the Yankees here. New York has a deep starting pitching staff, and it has one of its best on the mound. Meanwhile, the Royals will have Bubic, who struggles mightily with control.
The Yankees also have a better bullpen and lineup than the Royals, so while I don't love the odds, I'll take the Yankees moneyline at -200 on DraftKings.
Pick: Yankees ML -200
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