Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees Predictions, Picks and MLB Preview – May 22, 2017

Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees Preview

Where: Yankee Stadium, Bronx

When: Monday, May 22, 2017, 7:05 PM ET

Line: Kansas City Royals (+150) vs. New York Yankees (-170); total: 8.0 – view all MLB lines

TV Broadcast: YES, FSKC

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Betting on the Kansas City Royals (18-25)

Moneyline: +150

Kansas City’s losing woes show no sign of abating as the Royals suffered a disappointing 8-4 defeat to Minnesota in the second game of their doubleheader on Sunday. The Royals have now lost four of their last six outings as they dropped down to 18-25 in the AL Central standings.

With the Royals struggling mightily right now, the pressure is on Jason Vargas (5-2, 2.03 ERA) to deliver a solid start for Kansas City tonight. He looked out of sorts in his last start against the Yankees, allowing six runs and seven hits in four innings last Wednesday. Vargas is now 0-6 with a 7.15 ERA in 10 appearances (nine starts) against the Bronx Bombers, who are the only AL team he has not beaten. Yankee Stadium has been a mystery for Vargas who is 0-4 with an 8.34 ERA in five starts there.

That record doesn’t inspire confidence so it’s paramount for the Royals that their hitters deliver the goods tonight. One guy who’s swinging the bat exceptionally well for Kansas City of late is Salvador Perez. He hit three homers and drove in five runs in Sunday’s doubleheader against the Twins. He is 9-for-23 (.391)  in his career against Yankees starter Michael Pineda with two homers. Apart from Perez, Mike Moustakas and Eric Hosmer are also licking their chops at the prospect of facing Pineda tonight. Moustakas is 7-for-15 (.467) with two homers against Pineda while Hosmer is 6-for-20 (.300).

Betting on the New York Yankees (25-16)

Moneyline: -170

The New York Yankees finally snapped their three-game losing streak with a nerve-wracking 3-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday. CC Sabathia allowed just two runs on four hits in five-plus innings to win consecutive starts for the first time in nearly a year. With the win, the Yankees preserved their half-game advantage atop the AL East standings.

The Bronx Bombers will look to make it back-to-back wins when they lock horns with the struggling Royals tonight. Starting for New York in the series opener is Michael Pineda (4-2, 3.42 ERA). The right-hander is 4-1 with a 2.89 ERA in his past seven starts. Pineda is 4-5 with a 3.95 ERA in nine career starts against Kansas City. He allowed four runs (three earned) and six hits in six innings in his last start against the Royals last Wednesday. The Yankees won that ballgame, 11-7.

Pineda can’t do it all alone, though, and he needs the Yankees hitters to contribute on the offensive end as well tonight. Expected to lead New York in that department are Aaron Judge and Brett Gardner. Judge is hitting .321 this season, and his 15 homers lead the entire majors. Judge is also one of eight players in the American League with at least 30 RBIs, and his batting average has not dipped under .300 since April 28. Gardner, on the other hand, heads into this series against Kansas City hitting .282 with eight home runs, 18 RBIs and 31 runs. All of his eight homers have been hit since April 29, when he slugged two against Baltimore. He hit a crucial two-run homer in the win against Tampa Bay yesterday.

Writer’s Prediction

The Yankees (-170) edge past the Royals, 5-3.

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