Wednesday will mark the first playoff game played at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City since the 2015 World Series. With the ALDS now tied at 1-1 between the Royals and the New York Yankees, both clubs will seek to solidify an advantage on October 9.After a back and forth Game 1 that saw the lead change six times, KC held on to a 4-2 win to even the series in Game 2. Game 3 of the ALDS is slated to commence at 7:08 p.m. ET.Yankees vs Royals recent form and recordsThe New York Yankees played to a 94-68 record this season, the best in the AL, and enough to edge out the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East by some three games. After finishing fourth in their division last season, there is a strong appetite among fans in the Bronx to do significantly more in 2024.The Kansas City Royals are back in the postseason for the first time in a decade. Although they missed out on winning their division, the club made quick work of the O's in the Wild Card Series. 86-76 in the regular season, KC finished 6.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians in the AL Central.Players to WatchStarting PitchersNYY: Clarke Schmidt (5-5, 2.85 ERA) vs KC: Seth Lugo (16-9, 3.00 ERA)Schmidt has a 1.84 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9 and 93 K in 85.1 IP.Last Start: Win, 4 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K vs PITCareer vs KC: 2-0 3.29 ERA (13.2 IP, 5 ER) 2 HR in 4 gamesLugo has a 1.089 WHIP, 2.1 BB/9 and 181 K in 206.2 IP.Last Start: Win, 4.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K vs BALCareer vs NYY: 5-2 2.55 ERA (35.1 IP, 10 ER) 2 HR in 14 gamesMust-Watch HittersNew YorkCatcher Austin Wells' pair of RBI is currently tied for the lead on his team this postseason. Merely in his second season, Wells hit 13 home runs and had 55 RBI in 115 games this season, and has a career .409 average with three homers against KC.Although he has been relatively quiet in the first two games of the ALDS, Juan Soto has a career .269/.356/.496 slashline in the playoffs. A World Series winner with the 2019 Washington Nationals, the 25-year-old also set a career high in homers during the regular season.Kansas CityIn Game 2, catcher Sal Perez hit his sixth career postseason home run. The only veteran of his club's 2015 World Series run, the veteran Venezuelan is a .258 hitter with 49 RBI in 68 games against New York in his career.AL batting champ Bobby Witt Jr. already has a pair of RBI this postseason. In addition to leading MLB in hits with 211 of them, the 24 year-old set career numbers this year in home runs and RBI, with 32 and 109, respectively.A .400 hitter so far for the Royals in the 2024 postseason, Michael Massey has the chance to be a big part of his club's run. Now in his third MLB season, Massey has hits in both games of the ALDS.Yankees vs Royals baseball betting oddsWednesday 9/10Money LineRun SpreadTotal RunsNew York Yankees- 115- 1.5 -145O 8 -110Kansas City Royals- 105+ 1.5 -175U 8 -110Yankees vs Royals expert picks and game predictionThe Yankees will be calling on Clarke Schmidt, who pitched fewer than 100 innings this season, but has decent numbers against KC. However, it may be likely that New York will encounter more difficulty in the box.In addition to touting strong career figures against the Yankees, Seth Lugo had a terrific season. At 34, Lugo's 181 strikeouts ranked 20th in MLB, and he amassed an ERA of just 3.00.Although the Yankees won an AL-best 50 games on the road this season, Kauffman Stadium will be bumping. Perhaps the atmosphere will be just enough to inspire the Royals to take a driving 2-1 series lead.Run Line: +1.5 -175Total Runs: O 8 -110Prediction: Kansas City W, 9-7