Royals Will Steal Game From Tired Yankees

Yankees vs. Royals, 8:10 ET

We aren't quite at the middle of June, but we are close. It seems like we have figured out, for the most part, who the contenders and pretenders are. Of course, there is a lot of baseball to play and a lot can change. One injury to a team could significantly alter the season trajectory. One trade could push a team on the path to a World Series. Along with not knowing the outcome of the games, this element of change adds some intrigue to the baseball season. It is a long year with 162 games, but this year has already flown by and been a fun one. Tonight the Yankees and Royals play each other as both are hopeful to keep their pace and find their way into playoff baseball.

What more can I say about the Yankees? I've talked about them a few times over the past few days, from what they are actually doing to possible ideas for what they want to do at the trade deadline. They lost the series to the Dodgers, which wasn't ideal for them, but fans should also temper expectations. Losing to one of the best teams in baseball doesn't mean you're going to miss the playoffs, or they aren't ready or really anything of that nature. I would expect the good, rational New York fans to know that a meaningless series in June doesn't predict the outcome of a potential World Series matchup. In any case, what I want to share specifically about the Yankees squad is that they played last night and now have to travel. Playing on Sunday Night Baseball always adds a bit of extra juice to a game, and then traveling to get to the next destination can cause some issues with sleeping. According to Google, it is about a three hour flight, which isn't bad, but consider this schedule: Game on Sunday at 7:00 ET, done by 10:00 ET, if they are lucky on the plane to go to Kansas City by 12:00 ET, 3 AM landing, then drive to the hotel, so they are probably getting to sleep around 4 or 5 AM ET and then have to play a game in about 12 hours. They are professional athletes so I don't feel sorry for them, but this is a taxing schedule. I assume they probably sent Carlos Rodon, tonight's starter, to Kansas City already so he could go through his normal routine and get some sleep. Rodon, for the most part, has been the guy the Yankees thought he would be when he signed with them. He has tossed six consecutive quality starts and nine out of 13 overall. His biggest issue lately is that he has allowed eight home runs over his past 40.1 innings pitched. The Royals are not overly familiar with Rodon outside of Salvador Perez. Perez is 9-for-20 against Rodon, so you can probably count on him doing some damage tonight.

HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 29: Carlos Rodon #55 of the New York Yankees pitches in the second inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on March 29, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)

I've written about the Royals quite a bit this season, and most of it is due to the fact that they remain an undervalued play by the books. The club is not a public team, and most people who don't closely follow the sport would probably tell you they don't have a winning record. Of course they would be wrong, but if you're not paying attention, a lot can change quickly with baseball. This isn't a shot at casual fans either - I thought the Royals would be garbage this year again, but here we are with them near 15 games over the .500 mark and competing for the AL Central division crown. We know the Yankees have a lethal 1-2 combo in their lineup, but with Perez and Bobby Witt Jr., the Royals are doing their best to make their mark as well. Witt Jr. is putting together a nice campaign with a .322 average, 11 homers, and 47 RBIs, all of the marks are team leads. It is not the hitting that Kansas City has relied on, it is their pitching staff. Today one of the better surprises, Seth Lugo, takes the ball. He is coming off his worst start of the season. In his last outing, he allowed five earned runs on six hits over six innings to the Guardians. This is just the second time all season he has allowed more than two earned runs in a game. Ten of his 13 starts have been quality starts, and most of the runs he allows on the year are via the longball. That's not a great combination when facing the Yankees. Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton, and Juan Soto all have homered off of Lugo in the past, but the team is 16-for059 against him overall.

When I look at the game on the surface, I think Lugo might struggle in the game just because of the homers he has allowed. For whatever reason, I am very pro Carlos Rodon most games. Tonight though, I think the Royals get a little extra edge considering they didn't have to travel and go through everything the Yankees had to. I'll back the Royals to win this series opener and hope that we can steal a unit on this one. 

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