Media by Associated Press – Kansas City Royals right fielder MJ Melendez hits the fence as he tries to catch an RBI triple hit by Los Angeles Angels’ Phil Gosselin during the fifth inning of a baseball game Wednesday, July 27, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
The New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals made a significant trade on Wednesday night and now face each other for a four-game weekend series.
After being swept by the crosstown Mets, the Yankees acquired All-Star outfielder Andrew Benintendi from the Royals in exchange for multiple prospects. Thursday’s series opener is set for 7:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium, airing locally in both markets.
The Yankees will start RHP Jameson Taillon (10-2, 3.93) against Royals RHP Brady Singer (4-3, 3.82). The Yankees swept the Royals on the road in April with wins of 6-4, 3-0, and 12-2. Last year they were 2-1 at home against KC and 4-2 overall.
Royals Start Selling
Moving Benintendi may just be the first in a series of moves for the 39-59 Royals, who sit in last place in the NL Central. Whit Merrifield, Michael A. Taylor, and a handful of relievers like Scott Barlow and Amir Garrett could be next.
The Royals lost two straight at home to the Angels, shutout in both contests. They are 4-6 in the last 10 and 17-29 on the road this season. Kansas City is 26-44 against RHP and 7-13 against the AL East.
Benintendi was the only Royals batter hitting above .280 with his .320 average on the season. Bobby Witt Jr. leads the team with 14 home runs and 51 RBI. Salvador Perez is second in home runs, despite being on the IL since June 21.
Singer took a no-decision against Tampa Bay on Saturday despite 12 strikeouts over six innings. He allowed just one earned run on three hits and hasn’t lost in his last four starts. Singer has allowed 11 home runs on the season, including one in four straight starts from June 19 through July 8.
Singer faced the Yankees twice last season, going 0-1 with seven runs and 15 hits allowed in 7 ⅓ innings. Joey Gallo is 3-for-4 with a home run off Singer, while DJ LeMahieu is also 3-for-4. Aaron Judge is 3-for-5, Anthony Rizzo is 1-for-3, and Josh Donaldson is 1-for-6.
Yankees Stumbling into August
The Yankees placed outfielder Giancarlo Stanton on the IL this week and were swept by the Mets 6-3 and 3-2. Stanton is expected to miss three weeks with Achilles tendinitis, and the Yankees have been using veteran infielder Matt Carpenter in the outfield before the Benintendi trade.
They have lost five of seven games since the All-Star break but still, lead the AL East by 11.5 games. The Yankees are 37-12 at home this season and 45-25 against RHP. They are 19-6 against the AL Central.
Judge leads the Majors with 38 home runs and is second overall with 82 RBI. He has five home runs and 12 RBI since the All-Star break, with at least one home run in each series.
Carpenter has 14 home runs and 35 RBI in 37 games to go with a .307 average. Rizzo has 23 homers and 58 RBI overall, while Gleyber Torres has 16 homers and 45 RBI.
Taillon had an uncharacteristic start at Baltimore on Friday as he threw 67 pitches in just 2⅔ innings, allowing two runs on four hits and three walks in a no-decision. Prior to that, he’d gone at least five innings in seven straight starts and hadn’t walked more than two in any start this season.
Taillon was 1-0 against the Royals in two starts last year, allowing one earned run over 12⅓ innings. None of the current Royals have homered off Taillon, and only Emmanuel Rivera (2-for-3) has more than one hit. Taylor is 1-for-12, while Merrifield and Ryan O’Hearn are 1-for-8.
Betting Analysis
- Kansas City Royals +1.5 (-105) Moneyline +190
- New York Yankees -1.5 (-115) Moneyline -235
- Total Runs 8 Over -115. Under -105
The Yankees average 6.4 runs per game when Taillon is on the mound, and they’ve scored ten or more in four of his starts.
The under has hit in five straight Royals games; however, the over has hit in five straight home games for the Yankees. Look for New York to get to Singer early and often as Taillon gets back on track.
Betting Pick: Yankees -1.5 (-115)
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