Royals vs. Yankees Game 2 Predictions | ALDS Picks Today, Best Bets
Ben DiGiacomo
Host · Writer
Game 2 of the American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Kansas City Royals is set for tonight in the Bronx, so here are our best bets and top props for you to target.
Cole Ragans OVER 5.5 Strikeouts (-140)
Cole Ragans is a machine, and he’s flown under the radar all season as one of the American League’s most dominant pitchers. He was elite in September leading into the postseason, where he tossed six shutout innings against the Baltimore Orioles last week, and we have complete trust in him to pitch well deep into tonight’s game. He recorded at least six strikeouts in all four of his September starts and then struck out eight O’s in the Wild Card series. The Yankees struck out eleven times overall in Game 1, so should Ragans go about six innings as I expect, six strikeouts will be more than within reach.
Salvador Perez 1+ RBI (+140)
Salvador Perez is someone you should trust every time he steps into the batter’s box, and he has insane numbers against Carlos Rodon to amplify that belief tonight. In addition to being a better hitter on the road and against left-handed pitching in the regular season, Perez has gone 12-26 in his career against Rodon with nine RBIs. The top of the Royals’ batting order has to wake up, and Perez is the guy to drive them in. +140 this is a sweet price to get Perez at after he collected 104 RBIs this season.
Bobby Witt Jr. 2+ Total Bases (-125)
Bobby Witt Jr. has been an extra-base machine all season, but he’s still yet to have recorded one this postseason. A due hitter is a dangerous hitter, and tonight will be an excellent time for Bobby Baseball to flex some power to lead the Royals back to Kansas City with the series tied at a game a piece. Most of the year, Witt would be priced around -175 to record at least two total bases, and it’s not like Rodon is a quality enough pitcher to cause that to drop to -125. We’ll take the value.
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Aaron Judge 2+ Total Bases (+110)
Getting Aaron Judge at plus-money to record at least two total bases is something you don’t often see. He went hitless in Game 1 on Saturday night, and while we like the chances of Ragans putting together a dominant effort, he likely won’t be completely perfect. Aaron Judge is due, and he’ll want to leave his mark in October, given all the noise about him not being a playoff performer. There is no better opportunity than tonight to make that statement in Yankee Stadium under the lights, so at +110, we’ll take the value for him to record two total bases. As we’re touting the Royals ML in tonight’s ultimate same-game parlay, we’ll hope it ends up being a double where the Yankees cannot drive him in or a solo home run at worst.
Royals First 5 Innings -0.5 Run Line (+170)
Thinking about tonight’s potential flow, as optimistic as I am of KC’s chances to knot this series up, they have to jump on them early and not let up. Ragans has to dominate on the mound, and the bats must be all over Rodon immediately. If the Royals were to go down early, I struggle to believe that they’ll be able to come back in a hostile road environment, so getting a +170 price on the Royals to lead after five innings makes a ton of sense for me.
All Odds Courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
