Players To Watch:
Brett Gardner:
The Yankees’ left fielder owns a career slash line of .287/.362/.471 with one home run and 11 RBI in 39 games against the Royals but had one monster game a year ago.
On May 25, 2015, Gardner went 2-for-4 with a home run, three RBI, three runs scored, and even walked once in the Yankees 14-1 winning effort.
Against tonight’s starter, Chris Young, Gardner owns a .364 batting average with a triple in 11 at-bats.
Eric Hosmer:
Against this week’s starting pitching (Eovaldi, Pineda, and Nova), Hosmer owns .348 with two home runs and five RBI but also loves hitting at the ballpark in the Bronx.
In 16 games at Yankee Stadium, the first baseman owns a .311/.377/.525 slash line with two home runs and nine RBI. He’s also coming into this week red hot as he’s batting .375 with two home runs in the last seven games.
In Yesterday’s 5-4 comeback victory over the Indians, Hosmer cranked a towering two-run home run off Josh Tomlin.
Chien-Ming Wang:
Remember this guy?
The man who won 38 games from 2006-07 and finished second in the American League CY-Young award voting as a member of the New York Yankees has returned.
Wang, who fell out of favor with New York after his inability to be effective after an ankle injury, has re-discovered himself and has become a valuable asset in the Royal’s bullpen.
In eight appearances here in 2016, the native of Taiwan owns a 3.48 ERA and a K/9 ratio of 7.0. Although he shouldn’t make a significant impact in this series, it should be fun to watch the former Yankee take the hill.
