KANSAS CITY ROYALS (16-17)

at NEW YORK YANKEES (13-19)

First pitch: Thursday, 7:05 p.m. ET
Line: Kansas City +125, New York -135, Total: 8.0

The Royals go for a split of the four-game set with the Yankees in the series finale at Yankee Stadium.

The Yankees (13-19) took the opener of this series, 6-3, on Monday night, and then gutted out a 10-7 victory over the World Series-champion Royals (16-17) on Tuesday. Kansas City got back on track on Wednesday, however, with a 7-3 win. Prior to Wednesday night’s defeat, the last-place Yankees had won four of five. The Royals, in third place in the American League Central and six games behind the first-place White Sox, had dropped five of six prior to Wednesday’s win. On the mound for Kansas City in the series finale will be RHP Ian Kennedy (4-2, 2.13 ERA, 35 SO, 13 BB, 3 HR in 38 IP), who has allowed more than two earned runs just once through his first six starts. He’ll be opposed by RHP Nathan Eovaldi (2-2, 4.78 ERA, 37 SO, 8 BB, 6 HR in 37 2/3 IP), who is coming off a fine start against the Red Sox. The Yankees have gone 9-9 at Yankee Stadium, while the Royals have really struggled away from Kauffman Stadium, posting a 7-12 road mark.

CF Lorenzo Cain (.274, 5 HR, 17 RBI, .338 OBP) broke out with a three-homer game on Tuesday and had two RBIs on Wednesday, which is a very positive sign for the offense-starved Royals (119 runs – 12th in AL). Manager Ned Yost’s best player all year has been 1B Eric Hosmer (.328, 6 HR, 16 RBI, .378 OBP), who hits for both average and power. With 3B Mike Moustakas (.258, 7 HR, 13 RBI, .314 OBP) on the 15-day disabled list, 3B Cheslor Cuthbert (.286, 1 HR, 3 RBI, .286 OBP) has taken over as the starter at third, and he’s produced over his first 21 at-bats. LF Alex Gordon (.229, 3 HR, 8 RBI, .346 OBP), C Salvador Perez (.234, 5 HR, 18 RBI, .271 OBP), CF Jarrod Dyson (.226, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .284 OBP) and DH Kendrys Morales (.195, 4 HR, 13 RBI, .246 OBP) have underachieved greatly through the first 33 games. No Royal has more than six career at-bats against Eovaldi. 2B Omar Infante (.247, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .282 OBP) is 3-for-6 against him and Dyson is 2-for-2 with an RBI. In his one career start against the Yankees, back in August of 2013, Kennedy allowed two runs in 5 2/3 innings and earned the win.

DH Carlos Beltran (.261, 7 HR, 15 RBI, .274 OBP) has had a terrific series, going 6-for-13 with three home runs, three RBIs, four runs scored and two doubles. C Brian McCann (.274, 4 HR, 15 RBI, .361 OBP), who homered on Monday and had three hits on Tuesday, has also been heating up. The most consistent hitter in Joe Girardi’s lineup, however, has been 2B Starlin Castro (.293, 3 HR, 12 RBI, .339 OBP). Despite hitting just .260 and .235, respectively, CF Jacoby Ellsbury (.260, 1 HR, 9 RBI, .321 OBP) and Brett Gardner (.235, 4 HR, 9 RBI, .371 OBP) remain tough outs. The Yankees have only faced Kennedy once—he actually pitched for the Bombers from 2007-09—but some players who spent a significant amount of time in the National League have seen a lot of him. Beltran is 6-for-23 against Kennedy with two home runs, six RBIs, a double and a triple, and Castro is 7-for-26 with a pair of doubles and a triple. McCann (5-for-16 with 2 HR, 1 2B and 3 RBI) has hit the veteran well, as has 3B Chase Headley (.178, 0 HR, 4 RBI, .265 OBP), who has gone 7-for-25 with a home run, a double and a triple. Eovaldi beat the Royals last May in his lone career start against them, allowing just one run in seven frames. The Yankees have arguably the most dominant bullpen in baseball, with RHP Dellin Betances (2.57 ERA, 27 SO, 3 BB in 14 IP), LHP Andrew Miller (0.71 ERA, 23 SO, 1 BB, 6 SV, 1 BLSV in 12 2/3 IP) and LHP Aroldis Chapman (4.50 ERA, 3 SO, 1 BB, 1 SV, 0 BLSV in 2 IP) manning the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.