Yost’s Royals contests Yanks in series finale
Months ago, Luis Cessa was toiling away in at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre. Now, he’s an integral part of the Yankees’ rotation.
The 24-year-old aims to take down the Royals tonight, with an 8:15 p.m. ET first pitch at Kauffman Stadium. Yet oddsmakers seem a little skeptical of the rookie’s chances in the Show-Me State. Online sports book Bovada.lv has installed host Kansas City as a 1.5-run favorite, while the Bronx Bombers represent +105 underdogs. The over/under run figure rests at eight.
If Cessa can come close to duplicating the form of Masahiro Tanaka, manager Joe Girardi will be thrilled. New York’s ace permitted two runs on four hits and fanned four over five innings in Tuesday’s 5-4 victory. A lengthy rain delay, however, prevented him from improving to 12-4 on the year.
So far, Cessa’s looked the part of a potential No. 1 down the line. He became the second Yankees hurler since 2004 to capture each of his first two MLB starts, downing the Angels and Orioles. In a few hours, he’ll attempt to halt a foe that’s putting together a 20-8 month.
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Royals skipper Ned Yost answers with Ian Kennedy, he of the 3-1 record with a 1.11 ERA in August. The veteran righty has surrendered two or fewer runs in his past six starts. Nonetheless, he carries a 6.75 ERA in a pair of career appearances against the Yanks.
The defending World Series champs have claimed their seven previous series. Cessa’s recent brilliance notwithstanding, we can’t envision that streak ending here. Roll with the Royals to up that home record to 42-22.
WEDNESDAY MLB FREE PICK: ROYALS -1.5