Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees, MLB forecast
Win probability
Starts from the pregame forecast, then moves with the score and the time left after each inning. Above the line favors NYY.
Game center
From the ESPN box score.
Top performers
Royals- MJ MelendezBatting1-4, 1 HR, 1 RBI
- Michael WachaPitching5.2 IP, 3 ER, 4 K
Yankees- Jasson DominguezBatting3-3, 3 RBI
- Max FriedPitching6.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 K
Scoring summary
- 6Domínguez doubled to left, Chisholm Jr. scored, Wells scored and Volpe scored.2–4
- 6Wells walked, Judge scored, Volpe to second, Chisholm Jr. to third.2–1
- 3Witt Jr. doubled to center, Garcia scored.2–0
- 3Melendez homered to center (429 feet).1–0
The pick
Reconstructed from what was known before the game: the ratings at that point and the closing line.
Yankees 69%
Forecast Elo ratings alone
How often that comes true: MLB favorites the forecast gave 65–70% have won 69.7% of 518 graded games.
- Market
- NYY 69%
- ML KC +205 / NYY -250
- Pre-line forecast
- NYY 61%
- Elo + market-implied
- Elo ratings
- NYY 59%
- Ratings vs. market
- −9.4 pts
- NYY: Elo 59.1%, market 68.5%
- Fair odds
- NYY -218
- KC +218 · the forecast as odds, no margin
- Pregame projection
- KC 3.4 – 5.1 NYY
- Margin from the forecast, posted total 8.5
How the number is built
Elo inputs in rating points (higher favors that team; 25–28 Elo is about a point of spread in football and basketball), then how the pieces combine.
| Factor | KC | NYY | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team rating | 1497 | 1534 | Elo entering the game; 1500 is league average |
| Home field | — | +18 | Worth 18 Elo in MLB |
| Starting pitchers | −6 | +4 | KC: Michael Wacha: team allows 0.30 more runs than with its usual starter (≈10 weighted starts) · NYY: Max Fried: team allows 0.18 fewer runs than with its usual starter (≈10 weighted starts) |
| Elo ratings | NYY +64 Elo | NYY 59.1% | |
| Market-implied ratings | NYY 61.9% | Team strength as past closing lines priced it, same game context | |
| Pre-line forecast | NYY 61.5% | 15% Elo, 85% market-implied (log-odds blend) | |
| Forecast | NYY 68.5% | Follows the market (vig removed): in testing, adding the ratings made it less accurate | |
Tale of the tape
This season coming into the game, regular season, each number with its league rank (the longer the bar, the higher). Home and road: the host's record at home against the visitor's on the road. Opponent Elo: how strong the teams each has played are, 1st the toughest.
| KC | Stat | NYY |
|---|---|---|
| 29th of 303.1 | Runs scored | 6.22nd of 30 |
| 8th of 303.8 | Runs allowed | 4.922nd of 30 |
| 20th of 30−0.6 | Margin | +1.36th of 30 |
| 10th of 305–5 | Last 10 | 5–510th of 30 |
| 22nd of 302–5 | Road vs home | 6–416th of 30 |
| 10th of 301508 | Opponent Elo | 15117th of 30 |
| 19th of 301497 | Elo rating | 15343rd of 30 |
Rating history
Each team's Elo over the last two seasons. Hover or drag to compare on any date.
Recent form
Last five results, and whether the forecast hit.
Against the line
How each team has done against the closing spread and total, coming into this game.
| This season |  KC |  NYY |
|---|---|---|
| Run line | 6–11 | 8–8 |
| Last 10 | 3–7 | 4–6 |
| Favorite | 4–7 | 8–6 |
| Underdog | 2–4 | 0–2 |
| Overs–unders | 7–10 | 11–5 |
| Overs–unders, last 10 | 3–7 | 7–3 |
Against each game's closing line. Books set every line knowing these records: across 3,901 past games, the team with the better record against the spread so far that season covered 51.2%, short of the 52.4% a standard −110 bet needs, and over/under streaks held 48.0% of the time. They describe the past.
Head to head
KC 5–13 NYY in their last 18 meetings; the forecast called 13 of 18.
- Apr 14KC 1 @ NYY 4Picked NYY 57%Hit
- Oct 10NYY 3 @ KC 1PlayoffsPicked NYY 58%Hit
- Oct 9NYY 3 @ KC 2PlayoffsPicked NYY 52%Hit
- Oct 7KC 4 @ NYY 2PlayoffsPicked NYY 57%Miss
- Oct 5KC 5 @ NYY 6PlayoffsPicked NYY 64%Hit
- Sep 11KC 3 @ NYY 4Picked NYY 57%Hit
- Sep 10KC 5 @ NYY 0Picked NYY 57%Miss
- Sep 9KC 4 @ NYY 10Picked NYY 62%Hit