Royals vs. Yankees prediction: Picks, odds, live stream, TV channel, start time on Wednesday, July 27

The Kansas City Royals and New York Yankees square off on Friday with first pitch set for 7:05 p.m. ET. The game takes place at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, NY and will be available on local TV, through an MLB.tv subscription, and on Amazon Prime Video. The pitching matchup looks lopsided on paper: The Royals' Kris Bubic vs. the Yankees' Gerrit Cole.

The Royals (39-60) were shut out for the third straight game Thursday as they fell in their series opener against the Yankees, 1-0. Kansas City has the second-worst record in the American League. Whit Merrifield, who may be traded before Tuesday's deadline, is batting .292 with a .844 OPS since the beginning of July. Bubic has a 5.53 ERA, thanks in large part to a dreadful start to the season which saw his ERA balloon to 12.83 before he was placed on the IL in May. He has been better since returning in June and has just a 3.03 ERA in five starts this month.

The Yankees (67-33) mustered only two hits Thursday, but one of them was Aaron Judge's walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth. It was the third walk-off HR this season for Judge, who is on pace for 63 dingers. One day after being traded from the Royals to the Yankees, outfielder Andrew Benintendi went 0-for-4 against his old mates. Cole has racked up double-digit strikeouts in two of his past three starts and ranks fourth in MLB in K's (153). The Yankees' ace pitched six shutout innings at Kansas City on April 30.

Royals vs. Yankees

Pitchers: Kris Bubic vs. Gerrit Cole
First pitch: 7:05 p.m. ET
Royals local broadcast: Bally Sports Kansas City
Yankees local broadcast: Amazon Prime Video
Live stream: MLB.tv; Amazon Prime Video

Odds, picks & predictions

Run Line: Yankees -1.5 (-180)
Run total: 8.5
Moneyline odds: Yankees -380, Royals +310

Moneyline pick: Yankees -380

We've seen the Yankees slip up at home against bad teams with Cole on the mound. Just look at what they did on July 12 versus the Reds. Cole was magnificent, struck out 11 through seven scoreless innings, but the Yanks ultimately lost, 4-3. So it's not that the Royals pull off the big upset here. But given how their offense has fallen completely silent, you shouldn't bet on it.

Player prop pick: Aaron Judge OVER 0.5 RBIs (+110)

Judge, the AL MVP favorite according to DraftKings Sportsbook (-140), has been on a hot streak since the All-Star break. He has six homers and 13 RBIs since the break. He also has four homers and seven RBIs in four games versus Kansas City this season.

  
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