Yankees at Royals
After going 0-10 during their first homestand, the Royals look to record their first home win against the visiting Yankees. Kansas City returns to Kauffman Stadium after a 4-3 road trip that included two rainouts, while New York wrapped up a 3-3 homestand with a 5-0 loss to Baltimore on Wednesday. The bullpen has been a strong point for both teams, and Kansas City relievers have allowed just five earned runs over the last 28 1/3 innings.
The Yankees scored a total of three runs in their last three games, and the spotlight has fallen squarely on their 3-4-5 hitters. Alex Rodriguez (.267), Robinson Cano (.255) and Mark Teixeira (.226) are each batting well below their career averages, and the trio combined to leave five runners on base in Wednesday’s loss. Cano has just one RBI in his last 12 games, but he hit .348 with two home runs against the Royals last season.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, MLB Network, YES (New York), FSKC (Kansas City)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH David Phelps (0-0, 3.57 ERA) vs. Royals LH Danny Duffy (1-2, 3.63 ERA)
Phelps is making his first major league start in place of Freddy Garcia, who was moved to the bullpen after struggling in his first four starts. Phelps has thrown 17 2/3 innings in relief with a 3.57 ERA and a WHIP of 1.08. The rookie anticipates he could throw 85-100 pitches against the Royals.
Duffy had his previous start skipped because of elbow soreness, but he threw a bullpen session last Sunday without any problems. Duffy has a 1.33 WHIP through three starts covering 17 1/3 innings, and his 10.38 strikeouts per nine innings are tied for the American League lead.
WALK-OFFS:
1. Yankees infielder Eric Chavez will likely be unavailable Thursday after leaving Wednesday’s game due to whiplash and a possible concussion.
2. Kansas City’s Alex Gordon is hitting .458 (11-for-24) with two home runs and seven RBIs in his last six games.
3. The Royals’ 10-game home losing streak is the longest single-season streak in franchise history and is baseball's worst home start since the Chicago Cubs opened 0-12 at Wrigley Field in 1994.