The Kansas City Royals (17-32) welcome the AL East-leading New York Yankees (32-17) to town Friday for a three-game weekend set at Ewing M. Kauffman Stadium. First pitch comes at 8:15 p.m. Eastern.

Odds courtesy of Bet365; for a full-set of today's sports betting odds, access them at USA TODAY Sports.

New York Yankees at Kansas City Royals: Projected Starting Pitchers

RHP Chad Green vs. RHP Jakob Junis

Green will make his second start of the season as the Yankees designated opener on his birthday. He pitched the first 1 2/3 innings this past Sunday and gave up two solo homers. The freshly-turned 28-year-old has suffered significant regression this season as his ERA sits at 12.41 through 12 1/3 innings after breaking out last year with a rate of 2.50. He's allowing 4.38 home runs per nine this year.

Junis pitched seven innings for the first time this season his last time out. He gave up two homers and four earned runs (five total) with six strikeouts and two walks. His 3.42 walks per nine is a full free pass higher than his career rate, but he's inducing more ground balls this year with fewer fly balls.

New York Yankees at Kansas City Royals: By the Numbers

• The Yankees took the final three of a four-game set against the Royals in New York in April. The first two games of the series played to the UNDER, while the final two both topped the projected number.
• The Royals are 10-15 straight up at home this season but have managed to cover the spread in 14 of 25 games. The Yankees are 15-7 SU on the road and 13-9 ATS. New York is 6-4 against the total over its last 10, while Kansas City enters at 4-5-1 against the number.
• The Yankees are fourth in baseball with a team OPS of .805 against right-handed pitching while walking in 10 percent of plate appearances. The Royals rank 14th with an OPS of .760.
• Kansas City has baseball's sixth-worst bullpen with a combined ERA of 4.98 from its group of relievers. New York's 3.97 mark is tied as the 10th-best clip.

New York Yankees at Kansas City Royals: Key Injuries

The Yankees continue to run out a depleted lineup with OFs Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, and Jacoby Ellsbury, and INFs Didi Gregorius, Troy Tulowitzki and Greg Bird all sidelined for prolonged periods of time. Gregorius is closest to a return expected to be in early June.

New York Yankees at Kansas City Royals: Picks and Betting Tips

Moneyline: The Yankees are -140 favorites with Green expected to pitch the first couple innings before turning it over to the Yankees' strong bullpen. Even though Junis is beginning to be stretched out, it's not coming without detrimental damage.

Against the spread: The better number for New York backers is the +105 to cover -1.5 and win by two or more.

Over/under: The better payout comes with the -105 on OVER 9.5. It's a good pick as the Yankees continue to lean toward the higher number through injuries.

Follow Esten on Twitter @EstenMcLaren

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