Kansas City Royals vs New York Yankees Prediction, 10/5/2024 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs New York Yankees

Date: Saturday, October 5, 2024

Location: Yankee Stadium in Bronx, NY

TV: TBS

The New York Yankees (94-68) will play the Kansas City Royals (86-76) at Yankee Stadium on Saturday in Game 1 of the ALDS. The men taking the mound are Michael Wacha and Gerrit Cole. The opening line has the Yanks at -204 and KC at +170. The total opens at 8.

Kansas City has a slugging % of .403 and have been called out on strikes 1,161 times, while being walked on 429 occasions. They have recorded 711 runs batted in in addition to 1,343 base knocks for the season, while their team batting average is sitting at .248. The Royals have accrued 264 doubles as a unit and have hit 170 balls out of the park. They have accounted for 735 runs while holding a team OBP of .306. As a unit, the Kansas City Royals are knocking in 4.5 runs per outing, which ranks them 13th in the league.

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The Royals have an earned run average of 3.76 this season (8th in baseball), and the staff has struck out 1,339 batters. Royals pitchers have given up 146 long balls and 644 runs (6th in the league). They have walked 472 opposing hitters and their FIP comes in at 3.76 as a squad on the year. Kansas City has yielded 1,303 base hits (8.2 per 9 innings) as well as 596 earned runs. They have accumulated a K/BB ratio of 2.84 and their pitching staff holds a collective WHIP of 1.24.

Royals bullpen pitchers have gone to the mound with opponents on base 130 times as well as having 147 appearances in high leverage situations. The relievers have recorded 76 holds for the season (25th in the league). The Royals bullpen have accumulated a save rate of 64.1% and stepped onto the hill in 142 save situations. They have accumulated 41 saves for the season and have blown 23 out of their 64 save opportunities. The relievers have inherited 220 base runners this season and 28.2% of those players earned a run for their team. The Royals have dispatched 506 relief pitchers to the hill this year.

The Royals have transformed 69.6% of balls in play into outs in their 12,852 innings on the diamond, which has them sitting 18th in the majors. The Kansas City Royals are sitting with 4,284 putouts thus far, in addition to 1,423 assists and 85 errors. Their fielding rate is holding at .985 which is 15th in pro baseball, and they have turned 125 double plays.

Wacha has taken the hill for 1,454 innings and has 1,290 punch outs so far in his MLB career. Wacha (101-62 career record) sits with a FIP of 3.84 while he has faced 6,130 opposing batters in the majors. His ERA is 3.89 (629 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.282. He has conceded 1,405 base knocks (8.7 hits per 9 innings) and has 458 walks.

The Yankees hold a slugging % of .429 and they score 5.03 runs per contest (3rd in baseball). They have recorded 243 doubles, while taking a walk 672 times as well as recording 815 runs. New York has accounted for 237 home runs this season as well as 782 RBIs. They have struck out on 1,326 occasions (20th in baseball) and have earned 1,352 base hits. The New York Yankees have accumulated an OBP of .333 as well as a batting average of .248 over the course of the season.

The Yankees are sitting with a team WHIP of 1.243 in addition to having a FIP of 4.06 as a pitching staff over the course of the season. Their strikeout to walk ratio sits at 9.00 (1,457 strikeouts against 533 free passes). They come in at 6th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits relinquished with 1,272. They have relinquished 181 home runs and they surrender 4.14 runs per 9 innings (8th in the league). The New York pitching staff have conceded 668 runs on the campaign while holding a team ERA of 3.74 (604 earned runs yielded).

Sitting with 151 save situations, the Yankees have recorded 83 holds and also 21 blown saves. New York has called on bullpen pitchers to enter the contest in 66 save chances and they have walked away with 45 saves. Their relief pitchers have come in 150 times in high leverage situations and on 173 occasions with runners on base. New York relievers have an inherited score rate of 35.2% out of their 253 inherited base runners. They rank 7th in baseball holding a save rate of 68.2%, and they have sent 521 relief pitchers to the hill so far this season.

In 13,074 innings played, the Yankees hold a defensive efficiency of 70.3% (13th in baseball). The New York Yankees have gotten 112 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .984 (24th in MLB). The Yankees have racked up 1,320 assists, 93 errors and have a total of 4,358 putouts during this campaign.

During his career, Cole has surrendered 1,627 base hits while he has tallied 2,251 K's in 1,954 frames. Cole (153-80 mark in his career) holds a 3.18 ERA and has conceded 7.5 hits per nine innings. He has allowed 690 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.089 and a FIP of 3.1. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 4.50 and he has faced 7,861 batters in his career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Kansas City (+170)

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