The New York Yankees host the Kansas City Royals in the first Game of the ALDS on Saturday at 6:38 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium.
The Yankees are favored (-203 on the moneyline) when they host the Royals (+169). The probable starters are Gerrit Cole (8-5, 3.41 ERA) for the Yankees against Michael Wacha (13-8, 3.35 ERA) for the Royals.
The Yankees won 6-4 over the Pirates Sunday in their last Game. Trent Grisham finished 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBI to lead them offensively while Luke Weaver was earned the victory after throwing one inning without giving up an earned run on one hit, while striking out two.
The Royals defeated the Orioles 2-1 Wednesday, with Angel Zerpa getting the win while pitching one inning without giving up a hit or an earned run while striking out two. Vinnie Pasquantino went 2-for-4 with an RBI to lead the Royals’ offense.
Ahead of watching the Yankees vs. Royals, here is what you need to know about Saturday’s playoff action, including viewing options.
New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals odds and betting lines
MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Saturday at 3:16 a.m. ET. For a full list of sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.
- Favorite: Yankees (-203, bet $203 to win $100)
- Underdog: Royals (+169, bet $100 to win $169)
- Over/under: 7.5
Yankees stats and trends
Yankees betting records
- The Yankees have entered the game as favorites 130 times this season and won 74, or 56.9%, of those games.
- New York has a record of 16-12 in games when oddsmakers favor them by at least -203 on the moneyline.
- The Yankees have a 67% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline.
- So far this season, New York and its opponents have hit the over in 85 of 160 games with a total.
- The Yankees are 80-79-0 against the spread this season.
Gerrit Cole (Yankees probable starter)
- Cole (8-5) gets the starting nod for the Yankees in his 18th start of the season. He’s put together a 3.41 ERA in 95 2/3 innings pitched, with 99 strikeouts.
- The righty last pitched on Thursday, Sept. 26 against the Baltimore Orioles, when he tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings while giving up two hits.
- In 17 games this season, the 34-year-old has a 3.41 ERA and 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings, while giving up a batting average of .220 to his opponents.
- Cole is looking to claim his third quality start in a row in this matchup.
- Cole is aiming for his third straight outing lasting five or more innings. He averages 5.6 frames per appearance on the hill.
- He has held his opponents without an earned run in four of his 17 outings this season.
- He will match up with a Royals offense that ranks 14th in MLB with 1343 total hits (on a .248 batting average). The squad also slugs a collective .403 (12th in MLB) with 170 total home runs (20th in MLB).
Yankees batting stats
- No team in MLB has hit more homers than the Yankees, who have connected on 237 this season.
- Fueled by 495 extra-base hits, New York ranks fourth in MLB with a .429 slugging percentage this season.
- The Yankees’ .248 batting average is among the best in baseball, ranking eighth in MLB.
- New York has scored 815 runs this season, which ranks third in MLB.
- The Yankees are among the best in the league at getting on base, ranking third with an OBP of .333.
- New York ranks 11th with an average of 8.2 strikeouts per game.
Royals stats and trends
Royals betting records
- The Royals have been victorious in 37, or 44.6%, of the 83 contests they have been chosen as underdogs in this season.
- Kansas City has a mark of 2-2 in contests where bookmakers favor it by +169 or worse on the moneyline.
- The moneyline set for this matchup implies the Royals have a 37.2% chance of walking away with the win.
- Contests with Kansas City has gone over the total set by sportsbooks in 69 of 164 chances this season.
- The Royals are 89-75-0 against the spread in their 164 games that had a posted line this season.
Michael Wacha (Royals probable starter)
- Wacha (13-8) takes the mound first for the Royals in his 30th start of the season. He’s put together a 3.35 ERA in 166 2/3 innings pitched, with 145 strikeouts.
- The righty last appeared on Thursday, Sept. 26 against the Washington Nationals, when he tossed five innings, allowing three earned runs while giving up five hits.
- The 33-year-old has an ERA of 3.35, with 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings in 29 games this season. Opponents are hitting .246 against him.
- Wacha has 14 quality starts this year.
- Wacha will try to extend a 12-game streak of lasting five or more innings (he’s averaging 5.7 frames per appearance).
- In four of his 29 total appearances this season he has not given up an earned run.
- The opposing Yankees offense has a collective .248 batting average, and is 11th in the league with 1352 total hits and third in MLB play with 815 runs scored. They have the fourth-ranked slugging percentage (.429) and are first in all of MLB with 237 home runs.
- Among qualifying pitchers in MLB action this season, the 33-year-old ranks 19th in ERA (3.35), 31st in WHIP (1.194), and 41st in K/9 (7.8).
Royals batting stats
- The Royals rank 20th in MLB play with 170 home runs. They average 1.0 per game.
- So far this season, Kansas City is 12th in baseball, slugging .403.
- The Royals have the eighth-best batting average in the majors (.248).
- Averaging 4.5 runs per game (735 total), Kansas City is the 13th-highest scoring team in the majors.
- The Royals’ .306 on-base percentage ranks 19th in MLB.
