Royals vs Yankees Odds, Picks & Predictions (July 22)
- New York is listed as a -215 moneyline favorite in Saturday’s Royals vs Yankees odds
- Brady Singer (6-8, 5.70 ERA) takes the ball for KC, while New York counters with Gerrit Cole (9-2, 2.78 ERA)
- Don’t miss the latest Royals vs Yankees odds, picks and predictions below
Gerrit Cole is back on the mound Saturday, and for Yankee fans his turn in the rotation couldn’t come fast enough. New York (50-47, 28-23 home) had dropped five of its first six games since the All-Star Break entering this weekend, displaying some horrific offensive numbers in the process.
They’ll need a quality start from Cole to help break out of this funk against the Royals (28-70, 13-34). Online sportsbooks are bullish on the Yankees prospects, too. They’ve pegged New York as heavy favorites in the MLB odds, as they look to win Cole’s fourth straight start in the Bronx.
Royals vs Yankees Odds
| Team | Moneyline | Runline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| KC Royals | +185 | +1.5 (-110) | O 8 (-110) |
| New York Yankees | -215 | -1.5 (-110) | U 8 (-110) |
The Yankees are currently -215 moneyline favorites, in a contest with a total of eight. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm ET at Yankee Stadium, with sunshine and 84 degree temperatures on deck.
Odds as of July 21 at bet365. Claim a bet365 bonus code to bet on Saturday’s MLB action or see SBD’s bet365 review.
Kansas City vs New York Probable Pitchers
New York’s lack of form has finally caught up to them in the World Series odds. After hovering around the top-five for the bulk of the season, the Yankees’ price has been lengthened to +2500, which is behind 11 other teams.
Cole has been one of the lone bright spots lately, and his performance is garnering plenty of attention in the AL Cy Young odds. The Yankees righty currently boasts the second shortest odds at +250, behind only Houston’s Framber Valdez.
We asked and you voted…
MLB on FOX fans picked Gerrit Cole as the 2023 midseason AL Cy Young 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Fsfzy9btXj
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) July 13, 2023
Cole has yielded two runs or less in seven of nine starts, and hasn’t exceeded three runs allowed in any of those outings. He’s fresh off an 11 strikeout performance at Coors Field, and has shut down the big bats of the Rangers, Red Sox and Dodgers over the last month and a half.
The 32-year-old has had plenty of success against the hitters in this Royals lineup. He’s held them to a .182/.196/.236 slash line, with just one extra-base hit in 55 at-bats.
Singer vs Cole Stats
| 6-8 | Record | 9-2 |
| 5.70 | ERA | 2.78 |
| 1.50 | WHIP | 1.09 |
| .290 | OBA | .219 |
| 2.3 | SO/W Ratio | 3.8 |
KC will counter with Brady Singer, who’s in the midst of the worst statistical season of his four-year career. The 26-year-old is yielding an opponent slash line of .290/.349/.483, and has already coughed up 13 more extra-base hits than he did last year, in 51 fewer innings.
Singer is fresh off the longest outing of his season, going eight innings against Tampa Bay. The end result was nothing to brag about however, as the Rays still tagged him for seven hits, two homers, and four runs. Prior to that outing he was trounced for 13 hits and six runs by the light-hitting Guardians. The 26-year-old has an up and down history against New York.
Yankee regulars in the MLB starting lineups are batting .320 lifetime versus Singer, but that’s largely thanks to a blowout win back in 2021. Last year, Singer held New York to a single hit over 7 scoreless innings, while striking out 10.
Royals vs Yankees Predictions
Strikeouts have been a major issue during New York’s struggles, as has a lack of power. The Yankees are whiffing at a 26.4% clip over the last week, the sixth worst rate in MLB. To make matters worse, their .317 slugging percentage ranks 29th out of 30 teams during that stretch, while only four teams have scored fewer runs.
The numbers of some of their best hitters are extremely concerning. Anthony Rizzo, Giancarlo Stanton, DJ LeMahieu and Anthony Volpe are all hitting below .245. Stanton and Volpe are hitting .193 and .208 respectively, and that’s not going to cover up the fact that leading slugger Aaron Judge is still on the injured list.
The Yankees lineup struck out 42 times in their series vs the Angels, their 2nd-most in a 3-game series in franchise history.
New York struck out 43 times vs the White Sox in 2021. pic.twitter.com/oeuZuq81H1
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) July 20, 2023
Judge has resumed taking batting practice, suggesting a return is on the horizon, but by the time he rejoins the team New York’s playoff hopes might already be sunk.
As for KC, only the Athletics have a worse winning percentage and worse run differential in all of MLB. The Royals have performed just as poorly as New York over the last week, and even worse this month. They’ve dropped 11 of their past 14 entering play this weekend, averaging 3.14 runs per outing. They’re slashing .223/.264/.366 over that stretch.
Bobby Witt is the only KC batter with more than one home run since July 3rd, and one of only three regulars with an OBP north of .259.
The Royals struggles will almost surely continue against Cole. The way the Yankees are swinging the bats doesn’t inspire much confidence in a high-scoring game either, making the under the play.
Pick: Under 8 (-110)
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As SBD's resident Swiss Army Knife, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he'd rather pick off small edges in the player props market than swing for the fences with a 5-leg parlay.
