Happ, Yankees to face Junis, Royals on Saturday
New York Yankees (32-17, first in the AL East) vs. Kansas City Royals (17-32, fifth in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Kansas; Saturday, 2:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Yankees: J.A. Happ (3-3, 5.16 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 40 strikeouts) Royals: Jakob Junis (3-5, 5.69 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 47 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals host the New York Yankees for a doubleheader Saturday.
The Royals are 10-15 in home games. The Kansas City pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 5.23. Brad Keller leads the team with a 4.43 ERA.
The Yankees are 15-7 on the road. New York has slugged .451, good for fifth in the majors. Gary Sanchez leads the club with a .689 slugging percentage, including 18 extra-base hits and 15 home runs. The Yankees won the last meeting 7-6. Zack Britton earned his first victory and Clint Frazier went 1-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs for New York. Jake Diekman registered his first loss for Kansas City.
TOP PERFORMERS: Whit Merrifield leads the Royals with 26 extra base hits and is batting .292. Hunter Dozier is 8-for-34 with two doubles, a home run and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
DJ LeMahieu leads the Yankees with 53 hits and has 24 RBIs. Gleyber Torres is 15-for-34 with two doubles, six home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for New York.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 3-7, .245 batting average, 6.21 ERA, outscored by 29 runs
Yankees: 8-2, .264 batting average, 3.96 ERA, outscored opponents by 20 runs
Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Brian Flynn: 10-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).
