Royals not off to the same start they were a year ago and I could see a lot of small ball in this series, pressuring the Yankees IF defense and catchers. Witt's slug has been slow to come in the cold but that won't be a problem for long and he does have a HR off Carlos Carrasco in 3 ABs. They need him to be a spark at top of lineup and I expect him to lean into getting on base and running. Paired their with a SB and Royals ML on a little SGP.

Austin Wells is just outside the top 10 in MLB in numbers of times run on since the start of last season and he is just 14/73 throwing out runners. Cookie Carrasco could be preoccupied on the mound given his mighty struggles these days and he's getting pounded, so I feel good about getting on base. Third base is always in play for Witt. The Royals like to attack young catchers (Royals run wild on Adley Rutschman, for instance). Witt is 5/6 this season and, off to a middling start, expect his legs to be a catalyst here.

The Royals' lineup lacks depth but they don't give away ABs with strikeouts and they put the ball in play. They have the far superior bullpen in a close game and the superior starter in this game. Seth Lugo has held Aaron Judge is check and where have the torpedo bats gone? Carlos Carrasco is cooked, he will throw plenty of cookies and the Bronx crowd will be ready to boo him from the opening pitch. The Yankees' defense still an issue too often, and I expect them to have issues controlling the run game vs an aggressive opponent that relies on speed.