Posted on 4/9/2008 5:28:20 PM

MLB Baseball Betting - N.Y. Yankees at Kansas City

By Charles Jay

BetUS MLB baseball betting odds: Yankees -140, Kansas City +120, Total 9 (Under -120, Over - Even)

The surprising Kansas City Royals (5-2) will go after their sixth win in eight games when the play host to the New York Yankees (4-4) on Wednesday night's American League schedule. The game is set to get underway at 8:10 PM ET at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City (natural turf).

Ian Kennedy (0-1, 23.18 ERA) starts for the Yankees, while Zach Greinke (1-0, 1.29 ERA) gets the assignment for the Royals, in a battle of right-handers.

At BetUS Sportsbook, New York is listed as a -140 favorite (K.C. is +120), with a total of nine runs (the Under is -120, the Over is even money).

Here are some of the MLB Baseball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

(NOTE: These trends may also revert back to the 2007 season)

* NY has lost four of its last six road games

* NY has played seven of its last eight games UNDER the total

* KC has lost 10 of its last 15 home games

* KC has played five of its last six games UNDER the total

In the HEAD-TO-HEAD baseball betting trends:

* NY has won six of the last seven meetings

* NY has won seven of the last nine meetings as the road team

* Six of the last nine meetings have gone UNDER the total

I don't think there are many people who foresee a disaster for Ian Kennedy the likes of which he encountered last time, when the Tampa Bay Rays blasted him for six runs in 2-1/3 innings. Kennedy is one of a trio of young pitchers on which the Yankees are looking to build around for the long term, the others being Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain. The again, Kennedy has only started four games in his major league career, so what the hell do we know?

I can tell you one thing - Zach Greinke is starting to demonstrate that he can come back from adversity. Remember his tumultuous 2006 campaign, when he was relegated to the minors with emotional problems? Well, he came back in 2007 to be respectable, with a 7-7 record and 3.64 ERA, and reaffirmed a lot of people's expectations for him, which are that he can be an All-Star caliber pitcher. He threw a gem in his only 2008 start to date, holding the Tigers to one run and six hits over seven innings. But then again, everybody is stopping the Tigers thus far, it seems. So what the hell do we know?

We know the recent history, where the Yankees have won seven of the last nine at Kauffman Stadium, and we can see that Greinke did not make a good impression in his one start against the Bronx Bombers last year, allowing three runs and six hits in 3-2/3 innings before getting the hook. But Joe Girardi's team has not gotten a consistent offense going yet (3.1 runs a game), while Kansas City has yielded less runs than anybody, which means they've not only gotten strong output from the starters but from the pen as well. If Greinke's initial outing proves to be no fluke, he's going to help give the Royals a very interesting rotation and cement a solid reputation on this side of the pond for first-year manager Trey Hillman, who achieved a certain legend in Japan.

We'll take the Royals as the home underdog, at +120 in the BetUS Major League Baseball betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: KANSAS CITY +120

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(Charles Jay of http://www.eBookies.com touches all the bases as a regular contributor to the BetUS Locker Room)