Before we get into the matchup I was drawn to this one because it's a rare playable +1.5 in the playoffs.  We cashed one of these in KBO a couple days ago with Doosan and my logic starts with the fact the magnitude of these playoff games makes the +1.5 more valuable.  

We have the top teams playing the top teams, there are very few scenarios where one of these teams should be spotting the other a run and that's the reason the majority of MLB Playoff games have +1.5 lines that are juiced -140 or more.

Kansas City is playable from a price standpoint in the -120/-125 range and I see matchup reasons to like that as well.  The Yankees have been sitting around for a few days (which may or may not matter) but the Royals have had enough rest after their sweep of the Orioles where all the top pen arms are available here.  

Michael Wacha was outstanding in the second half and he's owned Aaron Judge who is 1 for 18 with 11 strikeouts lifetime vs Wacha.  I think the Royals have enough pitching to be comptitive for nine innings in Game 1 here.

Another reason I like the Royals has to do with where I value pitching in the playoffs.   In the regular season I have no problem with Gerrit Cole being a huge favorite against the Royals but in the playoffs, when the Royals are likely to use all of their leverage arms in a close game, it devalues the worth of the starting pitcher.

Kansas City has substantially better wRC+ metrics against right handed pitching so I expect the Royals to have tough at bats here.  Finally we get the visitors who will get the extra at bat.  If the Royals don't pull the upset I think there's a good chance this is a one run game.

Play on Royals +1.5 (-123) for 4% (or 4 units)