- What: MLB Divisional Series Playoff Game
- When: Wednesday, October 9th
- Who: New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals
- Time: 4:08 p.m. PST
- Where: Kauffman Stadium (Kansas City, MO)
The New York Yankees head to Kauffman Stadium to take on the Kansas City Royals in the third game of the ALDS on Wednesday. As the ALDS moves to the Midwest, the Yankees and the Royals are tied in this series at one game a piece.
New York Yankees
Aaron Judge is the key to the lineup and he was incredible this season for the New York offense. He hit .322 with 36 doubles, one triple, 58 homers, and 122 runs scored in 158 regular-season games.
In matchups against the Royals, Judge has maintained a .300 average with five doubles, 13 homers, and 29 RBI in 34 career games.
The Yankees are counting on Judge to kickstart their offense in this series, as he is 1 for 7 with four strikeouts so far. His performance will be crucial if the team is going to win against the Royals.
Game 2 from The Bronx Zoo. #RepBX pic.twitter.com/wlkamdEDUD
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 7, 2024
The Yankees will send Clarke Schmidt to the mound today. Schmidt has made 16 starts this season, pitching 85.1 innings and allowing 71 hits, 27 earned runs, and 30 walks while striking out 93 batters.
He has faced the Royals four times in his career, with two of those appearances as a starter. Over 13.2 innings against Kansas City, he has maintained a 3.29 ERA, giving up 16 hits, five earned runs, and two walks while striking out 11 batters.
Kansas City Royals
The Royals lineup is led by their MVP candidate, Bobby Witt Jr. He played a pivotal role in the their sweep of the Orioles in the Wild Card, managing a 3-for-9 performance with two RBI.
Witt Jr. has been a significantly better hitter at home than on the road. This should give him an advantage against the Yankees pitchers today. In his 17 career games against the Yankees, he has maintained a .338 batting average with five doubles, one triple, one homer, and seven RBI.
Focus on TODAY. pic.twitter.com/0WLnEpsQog
— Kansas City Royals (@Royals) October 9, 2024
Kansas City will turn to Seth Lugo, the most dominant pitcher in the first half of the season. Lugo started the season with an impressive 10-2 record in just 15 starts through the middle of June, boasting a 2.40 ERA.
He secured the win in the first game of the Wild Card round, leading his team to a 2-1 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Oct. 2. In that game, he pitched 4.1 innings, allowing five hits, one earned run, and one walk while striking out six.
Throughout his 14 career games against the Yankees, Lugo has achieved a 5-2 record in 35.1 innings. He allowed 25 hits, ten earned runs, and nine walks while striking out 45.
Yankees-Royals Best Bet
This series has been very compelling. One one hand the Yankees were a tremendous offense all season and the other the upstart Royals who continuously outperform expectations.
This game is very difficult to decide, there is no indication that one team should be favored. However, Oddsmakers have made the Yankees slight favorites, pricing them at -120 to the Royals +100, but I’m not convinced.
The total is what I’m targeting in this matchup. These pitchers have been too good for me to not look at a total that’s sitting at 8 runs.
That is too many runs for this matchup, Under 8 runs at -110 odds is the best bet in this one.
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Tony Reyes is a sports betting analyst and reporter for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X @TonyParlay.
