Published May 26, 11:41pm ET by
Paul Lebowitz - Betting Preview Analyst and Sports Writer
Last updated May 26, 11:41pm ET
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Updated May 26, 11:41pm ET
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| Kansas City Royals | +129 |
| New York Yankees | -142 |
Gerrit Cole returned to the MLB mound for the first time since 2024 against the Rays and tossed 6 scoreless innings, walking 3 and striking out 2, allowing 2 hits. Now, he makes his second start of the season against the Royals.
Cole threw 72 pitches in that first start. The Yankees are using him judiciously, but it won't be long before he's up to 90+ pitches.
As New York looks for its 4th straight win, Aaron Judge and Ben Rice are jockeying for the team lead in home runs. Judge has 17 and Rice has 16. Cody Bellinger has an .876 OPS and 8 homers. Jazz Chisholm's average is creeping up after a horrific start. He's at .246 with 6 homers. Anthony Volpe has been tremendous since returning from the minors with a .281 average, a .425 on-base percentage and 8 walks.
For the Yankees against Royals starter Noah Cameron, Judge is 1 for 4 with a home run. Rice is 1 for 2 with a home run. Amed Rosario is 1 for 3 with a home run. Bellinger is 2 for 6 with a home run. Austin Wells is 1 for 2 with a home run. Volpe is 1 for 3 with a double. Chisholm is 1 for 5 with a double.
Noah Cameron had a solid season as a rookie in 2025, finishing 4th in the AL Rookie of the Year voting after posting a 3.8 bWAR and a 2.99 ERA. This season has not been as good. He has a -0.1 bWAR and a 4.72 ERA.
However, he was excellent in his last start, holding the Mariners to 4 hits and no runs in 6 innings, walking 2 and striking out 8. His other numbers for the year are shaky. In 47.2 innings, he's allowed 53 hits and 25 earned runs, walking 16 and striking out 44.
The Royals have barely hit this season. Salvador Perez is batting .212 with 9 homers. Joc Caglianone is batting .239 with 5 homers. Vinnie Pasquantino is batting .203 with 5 homers. The only hitter providing any consistent production is Bobby Witt. He's batting .295 with an .853 OPS, 9 homers, and 16 stolen bases in 19 attempts.
Against Cole, Perez is 2 for 21 with a homer. Maikel Garcia is 5 for 9, all singles. Kyle Isbel is 0 for 13 with 8 K's. Starling Marte is 1 for 9 with a single. Michael Massey is 1 for 9 with a single. Pasquantino is 1 for 9 with a double. Lane Thomas is 1 for 2 with a single.
Even if Cameron is getting back to the pitcher he was in 2025, it won't help much if the Royals cannot score. Their hitting has been atrocious this season and Cole was excellent in his first start this season.
New York has had some success against Cameron and has shown power against him in the past. The Bombers will complete the sweep and win by at least 2 runs.
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New York Yankees -1.5 (+115)
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