New York Yankees vs Kansas City Royals Prediction & Picks - MLB

Prediction published on 4/15/25, 4:01 PM  by Carlos Zabala | Modified on 2/11/26 at 8:40 AM in MLB Picks

The Yankees have made solo home runs their preferred way to win games at Yankee Stadium. This was the case in Game 1 against the Royals, a 4-1 victory in which Chisholm, Grisham, Rice, and Wells all hit solo home runs between the 4th and 5th innings off Seth Lugo, who took the loss.

Meanwhile, veteran "Cookie" Carrasco will have the job of bolstering an injury-depleted rotation, and so far the Venezuelan has been quite useful, earning his second W of the season by pitching 5 innings, allowing just one home run, and striking out 4. Then the Yankees' bullpen took over, but 35-year-old Fernando Cruz stood out above all others with an unhittable splitter, pitching 4 outs and striking out 3 of them. With a 3-run lead, Williams would earn save number 2, looking to regain the trust of Yankees fans.

For the Royals, Game 1 was a game with little hitting, where Witt Jr. nevertheless brought in the first run of the game also with a solo HR and his numbers are already starting to look good, with an AVG of 317, perhaps a little lacking in power.