Royals vs Yankees | Michael King To Star Wednesday Night

The Kansas City Royals best chance to pull an upset in Yankee Stadium during this week’s series likely will be Wednesday night as one of the weak links of that New York rotation, Michael King, is scheduled to take the mound. The Bombers will be heavy favorites on the MLB odds.

How to Bet Royals at Yankees MLB Odds & TV Info

When: Wednesday, 7:05 PM ET
Where: Yankee Stadium
Probable pitchers (away/home): Opener or Kris Bubic/Michael King
TV: MLB Extra Innings
Stream/gameday audio: https://www.mlb.com/live-stream-games/
Opening MLB Lines: TBA (on Royals official pitcher; NYY will be big favorite)

Why Bet on Kansas City?

Kansas City lost excellent shortstop Adalberto Mondesi back to the 10-day injured list with a strained left oblique earlier this week. It’s Mondesi’s third stint on the injured list this season, also missing time with a right oblique strain and a left hamstring injury. While Mondesi has made the most of that brief playing time by posting a 1.212 OPS and .361 average with four homers in 38 plate appearances, it has thus far been a lost season for the 25-year-old.

“He’s just devastated,” Royals general manager Dayton Moore said. “We just feel so bad for him. We’re obviously a much different team when he’s on the field.”

To take Mondesi’s roster spot, the Royals recalled Ryan O’Hearn. He had been killing the ball at Triple-A Omaha, hitting .375 with a 1.382 OPS in 19 games. He’s hit 12 home runs and driven in 25 with 15 strikeouts in 72 at-bats.

It’s Kris Bubic on the mound for the Royals. Bubic (2-2) allowed two runs on five hits and a walk and struck out two in 2.2 innings, earning the win last Friday vs. Boston. Bubic followed opener Kyle Zimmer and the former left the game with Kansas City ahead. The 23-year-old Bubic has still struggled in June with 17 runs (16 earned) allowed over 15.2 innings across four appearances. The southpaw has a 4.17 ERA, 1.48 WHIP and 39:22 K:BB across 45.1 innings this year.

Bubic does own the longest scoreless innings streak by a Royal this season, covering 17.0 scoreless from May 6-18. He became the first Royal to throw at least 5.0 scoreless innings in consecutive relief outings (May 8 and 13), and the first pitcher in the majors since Seattle’s R.A. Dickey in 2008. Bubic owns a 2.35 ERA (4 ER in 15.1 IP) in five relief appearances this season, opposed to a 5.10 ERA (17 ER in 30.0 IP) in six starts.

It Bubic doesn’t start, he should follow an opener in this one as he did last time out but handle the bulk of innings.

Why Bet on New York?

The Yankees just got back 2020 MLB home run champion and first baseman Luke Voit. The Yankees took away any doubt that Luke Voit was ready to come off the injured list after Sunday’s game by optioning Chris Gittens back to Triple-A. Gittens appeared in nine games and went 2-for-19 with a homer and four RBI during his first taste of big-league action. Voit was activated Tuesday. He had been sidelined since May 26 with a right oblique strain.

Whether he can stay healthy with the Bombers remains to be seen. Two stints on the injured list and a .182 batting average over his limited time with the big-league club has certainly cast a shadow over Voit’s 2021 campaign so far.

Some bad news for fans of the Home Run Derby at the All-Star Game as Yanks slugger Aaron Judge doesn’t expect to compete in Denver. Judge put on a show at the 2017 Home Derby in Miami. Judge slugged his way past Justin Bour, Cody Bellinger and Miguel Sano to become the first rookie to win the Derby outright.

It’s Michael King (0-3) on the mound here and he’s only in the rotation with so many injuries to other New York pitchers like Corey Kluber and Luis Severino. King surrendered three runs in 4 1/3 innings last Thursday in a no-decision against the Blue Jays. King allowed five hits, walked two and struck out one. He’s given up 13 runs — 11 earned — over 15 2/3 innings in four starts since moving into the Yankees rotation.

King is due for some positive regression, as his 54.7-percent strand rate is unsustainably low while his FIP sits a full two runs below his ERA as a starter. In 11 appearances (four starts), King has a 4.08 ERA, 4.16 FIP, and 29 strikeouts in 35.1 innings. The team could consider moving him back to the bullpen, but with Deivi Garcia struggling in Triple-A, there aren’t any great candidates to replace him.