The New York Yankees welcome the two-time defending American League champions into Yankee Stadium for a tough four-game series.
By Christian Kouroupakis
The defending World Series Champions find themselves at the .500 mark (15-15) and are coming off a series in which they dropped two-out-of-three to the Cleveland Indians on the road.
The Bombers are looking to build on a significant series victory over the Boston Red Sox which handed them their first three-game series win since May 22-24.
New York earned a dramatic victory on Friday night, crushed their rivals on Saturday night, but could not complete the sweep as they scored two runs or less for the 15th time this season on Sunday Night Baseball (0-15 in those games).
In May of 2015, when the Royals made their way into the Bronx, it was not a pleasurable trip for the future champions. They were swept by the Yankees in three games and were outscored 23-4 as part of a road trip that they went 2-9 on. In total, New York secured the season series, 4-2.
All-Time, the Yankees own a 280-191 record against the Royals and have a .656 winning percentage when the two teams square off at Yankee Stadium.
In what will be a difficult yet interesting match-up for the Yankees, ESNY has you covered with everything you need to know leading up to first pitch on Monday night.
Pitching Matchups:
Chris Young (1-1, 3.94 ERA) vs Ivan Nova (1-1, 5.14 ERA)
Nova will be taking the hill for his first start of the 2016 season after CC Sabathia’s groin injury landed the lefty on the 15-day disabled list.
Super Nova made his last start on October 3, 2015, against the Baltimore Orioles when he surrendered five earned runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings pitched.
This season, the right-hander has made six relief appearances, going four innings in two of them.
The veteran Chris Young will oppose him. The tall righty went 4.2 innings in his last outing against the Washington Nationals while giving up five hits and two runs.
In seven starts against the Yankees, Young owns a 3-2 record with a 4.62 ERA and a 7.4 K/9 ratio but has struggled on the road this season owning a 0-3 record with an 8.36 ERA.
Kris Medlen (1-3, 6.85) vs Masahiro Tanaka (1-0, 2.29 ERA)
Tanaka turned in yet another gem last time out against the Orioles by tossing eight scoreless innings with seven strikeouts but earned a no decision.
Not a single opponent has scored more than two runs all six of Tanaka’s starts this year. In
Opposing him, Medlen is looking to bounce back from a frightful outing on Wednesday against the Nationals. He only went two innings and surrendered nine runs on six hits.
In four games against New York (no starts), he has surrendered four runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings in relief.
Yordano Ventura (2-2, 4.65 ERA) vs Michael Pineda (1-3, 5.73 ERA)
Ventura is looking to bounce back from two straight dissatisfying starts in which he walked a combined 11 hitters. Against the Cleveland Indians on Friday, the righty was tapped for five runs on six hits.
Big Mike battled through six innings of two-run ball while striking out four against the Boston Red Sox on Friday night but has still been a puzzle to figure out. The righty’s non-win streak has extended to five starts after earning a no-decision.
Opponents are hitting .307 with a .946 OPS off Pineda this season but he owns a 3-3 record with a 2.52 ERA against the defending World Champions.
Ian Kennedy (4-2, 2.13 ERA) vs Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 4.78)
Nate was certainly Nasty as he came up huge for New York, who were without Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller on Saturday against the Boston Red Sox.
The right-hander used his fastball to attack hitters and it helped him manage eight innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts (zero walks).
Former Yankee Ian Kennedy gets the start for Kansas City in the series finale. The right-hander was superb in his latest start as he shut out the Indians in seven innings of work and only allowed four hits while striking out six.
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.
Keys To A Series Win:
Channel Whatever Happened Saturday:
The New York Yankees’ offense exploded on Saturday afternoon for eight runs against the Red Sox.
Shortstop Didi Gregorius went 2-for-3 with three RBI and backup catcher Austin Romine came up huge with a 3-for-4 day with two RBI including a double in the third inning to help the Yankee offense persevere against Boston’s ace,David Price out of all people.
Heck, even Chase Headley (aka, the black hole in the lineup) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored. This is in fact what this lineup is capable at its full potential, and the team needs to start acting like it.
Let’s Take A Look At Chapman:
Good things happen when you have the ability to get the ball to your closer, and now that Aroldis Chapman is back? Boy, this should be beneficial.
The Cuban left-hander who throws 100 mph fastballs like it’s nothing will return to play on Monday night from his 30-game suspension under Major League Baseball’s new domestic violence policy. This discipline was given over an alleged domestic violence incident that took place last October.
Chapman, Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller are expected to dominate the late innings in 2016, which should have Yankee fans more than pumped up. The trio combined for a 1.70 ERA with 347 strikeouts in 212 2/3 innings in 2015.
If we see this guy this series, it could only lead to excellent things.
Game Times:
- Game 1: Monday, 7:05 PM ET, YES Network
- Game 2: Tuesday, 7:05 PM ET, YES Network
- Game 3: Wednesday, 7:05 PM ET, YES Network, ESPN
- Game 4: Thursday, 7:05 PM ET, YES Network, MLB Network
Injury Notes:
New York
- Starlin Castro (ribs): expected to play
- Jacoby Ellsbury (hip): not expected to return to the lineup
- Alex Rodriguez (hamstring): 15-day DL
- CC Sabathia (groin strain): 15-day DL
Kansas City:
- Mike Moustakas (thumb): 15-day DL, is expected to miss roughly 2-to-3 weeks
Bold Predictions:
- “Super Nova” dazzles in his first start of 2016
- Pineda strikes out ten on Wednesday
- Mark Teixeira cranks two home runs
- Chapman records two saves