Yankees at Royals
The New York Yankees have been taking advantage of struggling teams for the better part of May to build a two-game lead in the American League East. The Yankees will take on another such opponent beginning Friday when they visit Kansas City for the opener of a three-game set against the Royals.
New York was 2 1/2 games out of first place in the East at the end of last month but have feasted on the likes of Seattle and Baltimore since May 6 to emerge with one of the best records in the AL (32-17). The Yankees have won six straight series and improved to 15-4 over that time following Thursday's 6-5 victory over the Orioles, completing a four-game sweep in Baltimore after getting a tiebreaking, bases-loaded walk in the ninth inning by Aaron Hicks. New York has won five straight overall and will pay a visit to Kansas City, which dropped three of four when the teams met last month. The AL Central-worst Royals split a doubleheader in St. Louis on Wednesday but have not played in three of the last four days due to severe storms in the Missouri area.
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, WPIX (New York), FS Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Yankees RH Chad Green (0-2, 12.41 ERA) vs. Royals RH Jakob Junis (3-5, 5.69)
Green will serve as an opener for the second time in six days and appear for the third time this week in what will be a bullpen game for New York. The South Carolina native, who will be pitching on his 28th birthday, gave up a pair of solo shots to Tampa Bay in his first start on Sunday before working an inning of perfect relief Wednesday at Baltimore. Green has yielded a total of three runs over two appearances to the Royals this season
Junis took his third loss in as many starts Saturday after yielding five runs (four earned) - including a pair of homers - over a season-high seven innings. The former 29th-rounder hasn't given up a home run in his last two turns in Kansas City, as each of the last seven he has surrendered have been on the road. Hicks is 5-for-5 and Gleyber Torres is 3-for-7 against Junis, who permitted five runs (four earned) over 5 1/3 innings in a road loss to the Yankees on April 19.
WALK-OFFS
1. Torres, who drew a walk as a pinch hitter and scored the eventual game-winning run Thursday, is batting .405 with seven homers, 10 RBIs and 11 runs scored during an 11-game hitting streak.
2. Kansas City SS Adalberto Mondesi's 17 steals are more than the season totals of seven teams.
3. New York is averaging 9.4 runs over its last five contests after scoring 3.3 per game over its previous nine.