Royals take 3-game skid into matchup with Yankees
New York Yankees (34-17, first in the AL East) vs. Kansas City Royals (17-34, fifth in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Kansas; Sunday, 2:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Yankees: Domingo German (9-1, 2.60 ERA, .97 WHIP, 49 strikeouts) Royals: Danny Duffy (3-1, 3.45 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 23 strikeouts)
LINE: Yankees favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Kansas City enters the game as losers of their last three games.
The Royals are 10-17 in home games. The Kansas City pitching staff owns a team ERA of 5.28, Brad Keller paces the staff with a mark of 4.43.
The Yankees are 17-7 in road games. New York has hit 77 home runs this season, eighth in the American League. Gary Sanchez leads the club with 15, averaging one every 8.2 at-bats.
TOP PERFORMERS: Whit Merrifield leads the Royals with 27 extra base hits and is batting .297. Hunter Dozier is 8-for-35 with four doubles, a home run and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
Voit leads the Yankees with 34 RBIs and is batting .242. Sanchez is 10-for-34 with a triple, four home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games for New York.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 3-7, .257 batting average, 6.41 ERA, outscored by 22 runs
Yankees: 8-2, .273 batting average, 4.25 ERA, outscored opponents by 22 runs
Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Lucas Duda: 10-day IL (lumbar strain), Salvador Perez: 60-day IL (elbow).
Yankees Injuries: Luis Severino: 60-day IL (shoulder), CC Sabathia: 10-day IL (knee), James Paxton: 10-day IL (knee), Jordan Montgomery: 60-day IL (elbow), Jonathan Loaisiga: 60-day IL (shoulder), Ben Heller: 60-day IL (elbow), Dellin Betances: 60-day IL (shoulder), Aaron Judge: 10-day IL (oblique), Jacoby Ellsbury: 60-day IL (hip), Troy Tulowitzki: 10-day IL (calf), Didi Gregorius: 60-day IL (elbow), Greg Bird: 60-day IL (foot), Miguel Andujar: 60-day IL (labrum), Giancarlo Stanton: 10-day IL (bicep).
