The New York Yankees (28-12, 1st in AL East) will start a three-game weekend series on the road against the Kansas City Royals (13-30, 4th AL Central) on Friday.
The Yankees have won two straight with the last win coming on Sunday against the Oakland Athletics as their two-game interleague series with Washington saw the first game suspended and the second washed out. The Yankees are off on Thursday.
Kansas City has lost five straight games and was swept on Wednesday night by the Tampa Bay Rays when the Rays won 5-3. The Royals have now lost 7 of their last 9 games played. The only advantage the Royals may have is that the Yankees have not played a full game since last Sunday.
Aaron Judge leads the Yankees with a .307 batting average, and team highs in hits with 46, home runs with 11 and RBIs with 35. New York has a team batting average of .251 while opposing hitters are averaging .225 at the plate against Yankees pitching. On Friday, the Yankees with send CC Sabathia to the mound. The left-hander on the season is 2-0 with an ERA of 2.23, 29 Ks and 5 BBs.
Jorge Soler leads Kansas City with a .314 batting average. Mike Moustakas is the team leader in hits with 50, home runs with 10 and RBIs with 30. Kansas City has a team batting average of .260, while opposing hitters are averaging .280 at the plate against Royals pitching. Kansas City will send Jakob Janis to the mound on Friday. The right-hander this season is 4-3 with an ERA of 3.53, 45 Ks and 11 BBs.
