{"id":677903,"date":"2026-04-17T21:25:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T21:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/677903\/"},"modified":"2026-04-17T21:25:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T21:25:00","slug":"royals-vs-yankees-prediction-picks-odds-for-tonights-mlb-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/677903\/","title":{"rendered":"Royals vs Yankees Prediction, Picks & Odds for Tonight’s MLB Game"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tom<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Tom Oldfield<\/a>
\n \u2022 Betting Analyst<\/p>\n

22+ years betting experience<\/p>\n

\n Updated:
\nApr 17, 2026 , 04:28 PM ET<\/p>\n

\u2022 4 min read<\/p>\n

The Yankees will be glad to see a familiar matchup in the Kansas City Royals, a team they\u2019ve historically handled well and that doesn\u2019t look likely to change tonight.<\/p>\n

\"Cam<\/p>\n

Photo By – Reuters Connect. New York Yankees starting pitcher Cam Schlittler (31) throws a pitch.<\/p>\n

The New York Yankees aren\u2019t looking much like a World Series contender this month, but they\u2019ll have a chance to get back on track tonight at home to the Kansas City Royals.<\/p>\n

Though New York spiraled to a heavy loss yesterday with Max Fried on the mound, my Royals vs. Yankees predictions buy into the hosts\u2019 current No. 2 ace and signal a bounce-back effort here.<\/p>\n

Get the lowdown on this April 17 matchup with my free MLB picks<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Who will win Royals vs Yankees tonight: Yankees moneyline (-173)<\/p>\n

With eight straight wins over the Kansas City Royals<\/a>, it\u2019s fair to say the New York Yankees<\/a> have their number. So I\u2019m brushing aside the Bronx Bombers\u2019 3-7 mark across their past 10 contests, partly because Kansas City has the exact same record in that span.<\/p>\n

As well as Michael Wacha<\/a> has pitched this year, including a 0.43 ERA, the New York lineup has plenty of prior at-bats to lean on against the veteran righty.<\/p>\n

In contrast, none of the Royals\u2019 hitters have faced Cam Schlittler<\/a> before, and the Yankees phenom has racked up 7+ strikeouts in each of his four outings this season.<\/p>\n

\"Covers\" COVERS INTEL: The underwhelming Kansas City offense has scored two runs or fewer in seven of its last 10 games and ranks in the bottom five in runs, hits, SLG and OPS.<\/p>\n

Enjoying Covers content? Add us as a preferred source on your Google account \"Add<\/a>Royals vs Yankees Over\/Under pick: Under 8 (-115)<\/p>\n

With both of tonight\u2019s starters in a nice rhythm, I\u2019m sticking with the trends that point to the Under, which is 7-2 in the last nine meetings between these teams \u2013 and 4-0 in the past four matchups at Yankee Stadium.<\/p>\n

The Royals are giving their pitchers minimal run support. They\u2019re averaging just 3.42 RPG, and all three of Wacha\u2019s outings this season have fallen short of this 8.0 O\/U mark.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, for all the unquestionable offensive firepower that Aaron Judge<\/a> and Co. bring to the party, the hosts have only posted a .214 batting average, the fourth-lowest in the majors.<\/p>\n

[WRITER NAME]’s 2026 Transparency Record<\/p>\n

ML\/RL bets:\u00a00-3, -3 units
\nOver\/Under bets: 2-1, +0.8 units<\/p>\n

Royals vs Yankees odds<\/p>\n

Moneyline: Kansas City +152 | New York -180
\nRun line: Kansas City +1.5 (-146) | New York -1.5 (+122)
\nOver\/Under: Over 8 (-102) | Under 8 (-120)<\/p>\n

Royals vs Yankees trend<\/p>\n

The Under is 7-3 in the Royals\u2019 last 10 games. Find more\u00a0MLB betting trends<\/a> for Royals vs. Yankees.<\/p>\n

How to watch Royals vs Yankees and game info<\/p>\n

Location
\nYankee Stadium, Bronx, NY<\/p>\n

Date
\nFriday, April 17, 2026<\/p>\n

First pitch
\n7:05 p.m. ET<\/p>\n

TV
\nRoyals.TV, YES<\/p>\n

Royals starting pitcher
\nMichael Wacha
(2-0, 0.43 ERA)<\/p>\n

Yankees starting pitcher
\nCam Schlittler
(2-1, 2.49 ERA)<\/p>\n

Royals vs Yankees latest injuries<\/p>\n

Royals vs Yankees weather<\/p>\n

Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
Not intended for use in MA.
Affiliate Disclosure: Our team of experts has thoroughly researched and handpicked each product that appears on our website. We may receive compensation if you sign up through our links.<\/p>\n

Pages related to this topic<\/p>\n

\"Tom<\/p>\n

Tom Oldfield\u2019s sports writing journey over the past 20 years has taken him from the Premier League and Champions League to the NFL, NBA, WNBA and MLB, with a wide range of articles and betting previews. Tom has worked closely with London\u2019s Sportsbeat sports news agency as well as (thrillingly!) covering the Toronto Raptors\u2019 2019 NBA championship run, and he has appeared on BBC World Service and The Back Page podcast.<\/p>\n

A graduate of the University of Nottingham in the UK, he is the author of biographies on Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal, Gary Neville and Cesc Fabregas, and he co-authors a long-running series of children\u2019s soccer books with his brother, Matt.<\/p>\n

As a regular bettor across the top sports leagues, particularly with FanDuel and bet365, he is well versed on all the major markets and the next big game is rarely far from his thoughts. The best betting advice he has received is to monitor multiple sportsbooks to grab the best possible value.<\/p>\n

Read More<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tom Oldfield \u2022 Betting Analyst 22+ years betting experience Updated: Apr 17, 2026 , 04:28 PM ET \u2022…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":677904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2387],"tags":[5,936,2123,55,2596,2595,4,252],"class_list":{"0":"post-677903","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kansas-city-royals","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-kansas","10":"tag-kansas-city","11":"tag-kansas-city-royals","12":"tag-kansascity","13":"tag-kansascityroyals","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-royals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116422164095919240","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=677903"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/677903\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/677904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=677903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=677903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=677903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}