Yankees vs. Royals Sunday Prediction
The New York Yankees evened up their series against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday and now the teams will play their rubber match this afternoon. With two struggling pitchers on the mound, will the game go over the total?
Game Snapshot & Odds
921 New York Yankees (-155) at 922 Kansas City Royals (+140); 9.5 runs
Sunday, May 20, 2018
2:15 p.m. ET, Kauffman Stadium
TV: NYY (YES); KC (FSKC)
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Public Betting Trends
Oddsmakers from online sportsbooks currently list the Yankees as a -155 favorite. As of this writing, 78% of the betting tickets wagered at online sportsbooks are on the Yankees to beat the Royals on the moneyline. This information is subject to change, however, so be sure to check out our MLB Public Betting Page for updated figures on this game.
Yankees’ Gray’s struggles continue in last start vs. A’s
Sonny Gray was tagged for five runs over five innings in a loss to the Athletics on Friday. After back-to-back promising starts, Gray threw a dud against his former team. He gave up nine hits — including a pair of homers – while walking three. He struck out just two of the 27 batters he faced while getting seven swings and misses in his 93 pitches. His ERA now sits at a disappointing 6.39 for the year.
Royals’ Skoglund allows just two runs vs. Rays, still loses
Eric Skoglund yielded two runs over 7 2/3 innings in a loss to the Rays on Monday. Skoglund might have been one bad start away from losing his rotation spot a week ago, but he’s allowed five runs over 14 innings his last two times out to lower his ERA from 6.84 to 5.58.
MLB Betting Trends
New York
The Yankees are 5-2 in their last seven games against the Royals in Kansas City and are 79-37 in their last 116 games overall versus the Royals.
Kansas City
The under is 5-2 in the last seven meetings between these two teams.
Prediction:
Even though the Royals have limited offensive firepower, this might be the best ‘over’ play on the board today. Gray has been a mess, sporting a 4.09 ERA and a 4.34 SIERA. Dating back to last season, his groundball and hard contact rates are all fine but he can’t help giving up runs. On the other side is Skoglund, who only looked good in his last start because he faced a weak-hitting Tampa Bay lineup. Otherwise, he owns a 6.79 ERA dating back to 2017, doesn’t strike many batters out, gives up a ton of hard contact and can’t generate ground balls. Good luck against this Yankees lineup, Eric.
The Pick: Yankees/Royals over 9.5