The series opener between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals was a fun one on Saturday night. Kansas City seized a 1-0 advantage in the second inning and there were a whopping five more lead changes thereafter, with New York eventually prevailing 6-5.
The Yankees can take complete control of this ALDS matchup with another win on Monday, while the Royals will try to even things up before heading to Kansas City.
Here we take a look at the best bets to be made for Game 2.
Five days off proved to be no problem for the Yankees, as they shook off the rust – if there was any – to take Game 1 against the Royals on Saturday.
Kansas City, on the other hand, had momentum after sweeping the Baltimore Orioles in the wild-card round. However, the visitors could not sustain it – at least not in Game 1.
Michael Wacha gave up three runs in just 4.0 innings, so a decent start by Gerrit Cole (three earned runs allowed in 5.0 innings of work) was enough for New York to get the job done.
Gleyber Torres hit a two-run homer for the Yankees, who prevailed even though Aaron Judge, Juan Soto and Giancarlo Stanton combined for zero RBIs and one run scored.
If the Bronx Bombers can take care of business, even with their three best players doing next to nothing, it bodes well moving forward.
Regardless of what the offense does, New York may be in fine shape on Monday because Nestor Cortes is taking the mound.
Cortes (16-9, 3.96 ERA) was fantastic down the stretch of the regular season. He compiled a 2.20 ERA in five September starts and did not surrender more than two earned runs in any outing. The left-hander has faced Kansas City once this season and hurled 7.0 innings of one-run baseball during a 4-2 victory.
All things considered, the Yankees can pick up another win and take a 2-0 lead in the series.
New York on the money line and the over were winning bets on Saturday and going right back to the well with the same picks for Game 2 should be the way to go.
Cortes is pitching well, but it's not like he is guaranteed to throw a gem every time he takes the mound. This isn’t Tarik Skubal we are talking about here.
The 29-year-old has to go up against a formidable Kansas City lineup, too. Bobby Witt Jr. is a candidate for MVP after batting .332 with 32 home runs, 109 RBIs, 125 runs scored and 31 stolen bases. Meanwhile, Salvador Perez is showing no signs of slowing down, as he went deep 27 times.
The Royals are countering with Cole Ragans, who has pitched well but is a newcomer to the postseason. He was mostly effective in his lone start against the Yankees during the regular season but served up a two-run homer to Soto and should give the Dominican plenty of confidence heading into Game 2.
There were runs aplenty in the ALDS opener; don’t be surprised by more of the same on Monday.
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Kansas City Royals | +125 ML |
New York Yankees | -150 ML |
Run Line | Yankees -1.5 (+140) |
Total | O/U 7.5 |
Salvador Perez (KC) | +350 |
Bobby Witt Jr. (KC) | +400 |
Hunter Renfroe (KC) | +475 |
Aaron Judge (NYY) | +240 |
Giancarlo Stanton (NYY) | +310 |
Juan Soto (NYY) | +400 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.