The New York Yankees visit the Kansas City Royals for Game 4 of the ALDS on Thursday at 8:08 p.m. ET at Kauffman Stadium. The Yankees are up 2-1 in the series and would clinch with a victory.

The Royals (+130 underdog on the moneyline) take the field at home against the Yankees (-154). The Yankees are set to send out Gerrit Cole (8-5, 3.41 ERA) against the Royals and Michael Wacha (13-8, 3.35 ERA).

These clubs play again following the Yankees’ 3-2 victory over the Royals yesterday. Tommy Kahnle (1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 K) registered the win for the Yankees. Giancarlo Stanton went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and two RBI to lead the team on offense. Kris Bubic (1.0 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 1 K) was credited with the loss on the mound for the Royals.

Get ready for this postseason matchup between the Yankees vs. Royals with everything you need to know, including viewing options.

New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals odds and betting lines

MLB odds courtesy of BetMGM Sportsbook. Odds updated Thursday at 3:16 p.m. ET. For a full list of Sports betting odds, access USA TODAY Sports Betting Scores Odds Hub.

  • Favorite: Yankees (-154, bet $154 to win $100)
  • Underdog: Royals (+130, bet $100 to win $130)
  • Over/under: 8

Yankees stats and trends

Yankees betting records

  • The Yankees have won 76, or 57.1%, of the 133 games they’ve played as favorites this season.
  • New York has entered 74 games this season favored by -154 or more and is 45-29 in those contests.
  • The sportsbooks’ moneyline implies a 60.6% chance of a victory for the Yankees.
  • New York and its opponents have gone over the total this season in 86 of 163 opportunities.
  • The Yankees are 80-82-0 ATS in their 162 games with a 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 appeared on Saturday against the Kansas City Royals, when he threw five innings, allowing three earned runs while giving up seven hits.
  • In 17 games this season, the 34-year-old has amassed an ERA of 3.41, with 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings. Opponents are batting .220 against him.
  • Cole is trying to pick up his ninth quality start of the season.
  • Cole will look to pitch five or more innings for his fourth straight appearance. He’s averaging 5.6 frames per outing.
  • He has had four appearances this season in which he held his opponents to zero earned runs.
  • The opposing Royals offense has a collective .248 batting average, and is 14th in the league with 1343 total hits and 13th in MLB play with 735 runs scored. It has the 12th-ranked slugging percentage (.403) and ranks 20th in home runs (170) in all of MLB.
  • In five innings over one appearance against the Royals this season, Cole has a 5.4 ERA and a 1.8 WHIP while his opponents are hitting .350.

Yankees batting stats

  • The Yankees have hit 237 homers to lead Major League Baseball this season.
  • Fueled by 495 extra-base hits, New York ranks fourth in MLB with a .429 slugging percentage this season.
  • The Yankees have a team batting average of .248 this season, which ranks eighth among MLB teams.
  • New York is among the highest-scoring teams in the majors, ranking third with 815 total runs this season.
  • The Yankees are among the best in the league at getting on base, ranking third with an OBP of .333.
  • New York ranks 11th in MLB in strikeouts per game with an average of 8.2 whiffs per contest.

Royals stats and trends

Royals betting records

  • The Royals have won in 38, or 44.2%, of the 86 contests they have been named as odds-on underdogs this year.
  • Kansas City has a win-loss record of 8-18 when favored by +130 or worse by bookmakers this year.
  • The Royals have an implied victory probability of 43.5% according to the moneyline set for this matchup.
  • Kansas City’s games have gone over the total in 70 of its 167 opportunities.
  • The Royals have posted a record of 92-75-0 against the spread this season.

Michael Wacha (Royals probable starter)

  • Wacha (13-8 with a 3.35 ERA and 145 strikeouts in 166 2/3 innings pitched) makes the start for the Royals, his 30th of the season.
  • His last time out was on Saturday against the New York Yankees, when the righty went four innings, surrendering three earned runs while giving up four hits.
  • The 33-year-old has put together a 3.35 ERA and 7.8 strikeouts per nine innings during 29 games this season, while allowing a batting average of .246 to opposing hitters.
  • Wacha is trying to collect his 15th quality start of the season in this matchup.
  • Wacha enters this game with 26 outings of five or more innings pitched this year.
  • He has made four appearances this season in which he did not allow an earned run.
  • The opposing Yankees offense has the fourth-ranked slugging percentage (.429) and ranks first in home runs hit (237) in all of MLB. They have a collective .248 batting average, and are 11th in the league with 1352 total hits and third in MLB action scoring 815 runs.
  • Wacha has pitched four innings, giving up three earned runs on four hits while striking out three against the Yankees this season.
  • The 33-year-old’s 3.35 ERA ranks 19th, 1.194 WHIP ranks 31st, and 7.8 K/9 ranks 41st among qualifying pitchers this season.

Royals batting stats

  • The Royals are 20th in MLB action with 170 home runs. They average one per game.
  • So far this year, Kansas City’s .403 slugging percentage is 12th in baseball.
  • The Royals are eighth in MLB with a .248 batting average.
  • Averaging 4.5 runs per game (735 total), Kansas City is the 13th-highest scoring team in baseball.
  • The Royals’ .306 on-base percentage ranks 19th in the majors.
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