Game XXXVI Thread: The Highlanders of New York versus the Royals of Kansas City

In the first of three games, the first-place Yankees come to town to face the first-place Royals in a battle of at least mildly surprising first-place teams.

The Yankees will send Michael Pineda to the mound. After a couple years of shoulder-related setbacks, Pineda has been every bit the stud this year that the Yankees thought they were getting when they traded for him after the 2011 season. Sporting a 2.72 ERA, Pineda is coming off a start in which he struck out 16 in seven innings. His 1.91 FIP indicates he's pitched even better than his ERA would suggest.

Chris Young will attempt to better his New York counterpart. Young has been the best Royals starter thus far this season, though that isn't saying a lot. Still, he made quick work of the Tigers in his two starts, which is no small feat. While Young has nearly always outperformed his peripherals thanks to an ability to induce fly balls at an absurdly high rate, his ERA is a stingy 0.78 through 23 innings. His 2.71 FIP infers that luck has been a factor in that ERA, and the sample size is a small one, but teams have absolutely been baffled when facing the 6'10" Princetonian.

There can be only one.