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Yanks shoot for third straight win in KC

Jun 7, 2014 - 2:43 PM (Sports Network) - The New York Yankees eye a third straight win on Saturday when they take on the Kansas City Royals in the second test of a four-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

The Yankees will send David Phelps out to start against the Royals Saturday. Phelps was tagged for six runs in six innings of work in a 10-2 loss to Seattle on Monday.

The 27-year-old Phelps is 1-3 on the season with a 4.11 earned run average with 42 strikeouts. He's been tagged with three straight losses, but still gave a solid effort on May 22 when he went seven innings and gave up just two runs with eight K's in a 3-2 Yankees loss.

Phelps has appeared in two games against Kansas City in his career, making one start. He's 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA and seven strikeouts in six innings pitched.

Left-hander Danny Duffy will take the mound Saturday for Kansas City. Duffy is coming off his best start of the year, in which he pitched six scoreless innings in a 6-0 defeat of the Cardinals, allowing just one hit and fanning five batters.

Duffy is 3-5 on the season with a 3.05 ERA with 29 strikeouts. He's made two terrible starts against the Yankees in his career, going a combined 8 1/3 innings pitched with a 10.80 ERA and 10 total earned runs. At home in his career with the Royals, Duffy has underperformed with a 3-10 record and a 5.03 ERA.

The Yankees started this series off on the right foot Friday night by downing the Royals, 4-2, as Chase Whitley earned his first major league win.

Brian McCann was the offensive hero for New York Friday night, as the catcher belted his seventh double of the season in the third inning that scored three runs and broke a 1-1 tie. McCann's double was one of eight hits in the contest for the Yankees.

"That's a huge hit," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It's a tough at-bat. He fouls off a lot of tough pitches - a change up, a curveball, a real slow curveball, and he got a ball up in the zone and turned it into a double."

Whitley had made five starts prior to Friday, and was performing admirably with a 2.37 ERA, though he had wins to show for it. He pitched seven innings on Friday and gave up two runs on five hits.

Guthrie took the loss for the Royals, and fell to 2-6 on the season. Like Whitley, Guthrie lasted seven innings but allowed four runs on six hits - three on McCann's double.

The Yankees have won eight of their last 10 against Kansas City.