JEFF ALLEN GAME PREVIEW: ROYALS at YANKEES
A classic rivalry from the 80’s that are two of MLB’s biggest underachievers in 2016 square off tonight at Yankee Stadium as the Kansas City Royals visit the Bronx Bombers. The Royals could be victims of a championship hangover as they are 3-7 in their L10 and 15-15 overall and already six game behind the White Sox who are streaking right out of the gate at 22-10. The Yankees 11-18 and in last place in the A.L. East. The Bombers are also 3-7 in their L10 and are close to being buried just 30 games into the new season. Soft throwing Chris Young (1-4, 5.76) faces veteran righty Ivan Nova making his 2016 debut. As of this writing, the Yankees are a small -114 favorite with the total set a 8 1/2.
The Royals have been slow out of the gate in almost every aspect of their game. The team is hitting just .253, good for just sixth in the American League and the timely hits that scored runners in last year’s title run have been virtually non-existent. The starting pitching has been shaky and the bullpen that was light’s out in the second half last year has not found that form. The lone bright spot for the Royals to this point has been the play of 1B Eric Hosmer who is hitting .336 with 5 HRs and 15 RBIs.
Brian Cashman has said that he’s tired of losing and that we can expect to see full scale changes soon. The first out the door should be Cashman who has left the team with nothing but broken down big contract oldies and unproven young players with very little down on the farm. The “Bombers” are bombing at .232 which is good for 14th in the American League and the pitching staff’s ERA of 4.25 ranks just 12th, again … just in the American League. The Pinstripes have not scored enough runs or gotten the starting pitching to take advantage of the only strong suit of the team, the bullpen and an excellent closer.
Chris Young has not been good by any means but his numbers are skewed greatly by a poor road start early in the year. He split two games with the Yanks last year giving up five earned in 11 2/3 innings with 11 K’s and four walks. He’s good for five or six innings before turning things over to what should be a farily fresh pen. The X-factor here will be Nova who at one time was the Bronx stopper. In fact, there was a time a couple of years ago where Nova won 11 straight starts off a New York loss. Nova has faced the Royals just one time since 2011 and that was an 8-1 win back in 2013. Nova had Tommy John surgery in 2014 and has battled arm woes since.
While we have no opinion on the side, if the starters can get through six innings without much damage, they will be handing the ball off to two of the better pens in baseball. That is a big if but at eight and the hook, might want to take a small look at the under. It is probably better to sit this one out as their are better offerings out there.