Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees, 4/18/2019 Predictions & Odds

Royals vs. Yankees Thursday Prediction

The Royals and Yankees open a new series in New York on Thursday, as Homer Bailey is set to square off against Domingo German in the pitching matchup. Are the Yankees a safe play for bettors on the runline?

Game Snapshot & Odds

965 Kansas City Royals (+175) at 966 New York Yankees (-213); 9 runs

Thursday, April 18, 2019

6:35 p.m. ET, Yankee Stadium, New York, NY

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Public Betting Trends

According to our MLB Public Betting Chart page, 76% of the betting tickets are on the Yankees to beat the Royals on the moneyline.

Kansas City Royals Fantasy Spin

Alex Gordon chipped in with an RBI single Wednesday in KC’s win over the White Sox. Gordon knotted the score at two by poking a two-run single to right in the fifth inning and advanced to second on an errant throw by Adam Engel. That was Gordon’s only hit of the afternoon, though he also reached on a first-inning hit-by-pitch. The 35-year-old has mostly been a non-factor, at least offensively, in recent years, though that hasn’t been the case in 2019. He’s been electric in the early going, hitting .339 with three homers, six doubles and 15 RBI through 62 at-bats.

New York Yankees Fantasy Spin

Brett Gardner clubbed a go-ahead grand slam to lead the Yankees to a 5-3 victory over the Red Sox on Wednesday. The Yankees trailed 3-1 in the seventh inning when Gardner came to the plate with the bases loaded. He smoked a line drive off Ryan Brasier that cleared the wall in right field for a grand slam. Gardner came into the day with a rough stat line, but his heroics obviously kicked it up a notch. He is now slashing .203/.301/.438 with four home runs and eight RBI on the season. The leadoff batter has chipped in two stolen bases as well.

MLB Betting Trends

Kansas City

The Royals are 38-83 in their last 121 meetings with the Yankees.

New York

The Yankees are 46-17 in their last 63 home games against the Royals.

Prediction:

Bailey has pitched well this season, but for years he has struggled against hitters from both sides of the plate. He’s prone to allowing home runs, which is problematic tonight seeing as how he’ll make his start at Yankee Stadium. I expect the depleted Yankees’ lineup to jump on Bailey at some point. Meanwhile, German has had some issues with walks in his first two starts but he has limited hard contact and he has struck batters out at a 28.0% rate. Given the pitching matchup, I like the Yankees on the runline tonight.

The Pick: New York Yankees -1.5 (-115)