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Two teams battling for playoff position meet as the New York Yankees begin a three-game series against the visiting Kansas City Royals on Monday.

New York (82-61) took two of three from the Chicago Cubs over the weekend and the team holds a half-game lead for first place in the American League East over the Baltimore Orioles.

Kansas City (79-65) has won four straight after a seven-game losing streak. The Royals completed a three-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins with a 2-0 victory on Sunday.

The Royals are 2 1/2 games ahead of Minnesota in the race for the second AL Central wild-card spot.

Kansas City has received a boost from leadoff hitter Tommy Pham, who is 8-for-27 (.296) with four RBIs in seven games since being claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Cardinals.

“He’s a spark plug,” Royals second baseman Michael Massey said. “He brings a swagger to our team, and he’s obviously doing a really good job setting the tone and getting innings going while also driving guys in. We’re lucky to have him.”

The Yankees are waiting for the next power surge from slugger Aaron Judge, who has gone 12 straight games without a home run, which is his longest streak of the season. He went 1-for-3 with a walk on Sunday.

“He hit a couple of smoked balls today,” New York manager Aaron Boone said. “He probably missed a couple of pitches that stick in the seats when he’s really rolling. He’ll hit them in bunches. He’s not far off at all.”

Yankees outfielder Juan Soto went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts on Sunday and was 1-for-10 in the weekend series against the Cubs.

Right-hander Brady Singer (9-10, 3.35 ERA) will take the mound for Kansas City in the series opener. He allowed two runs over 5 2/3 innings in a 7-1 loss to the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday.

Singer, 28, has gone 1-4 over his past six starts despite striking out 35 and walking seven over that stretch.

“This is baseball,” Singer said after his outing Tuesday. “This is part of the journey and part of the season. Really, really good ballclub in here. I’m excited every day we come to the field.”

Anthony Rizzo is 2-for-11 against Singer, who is 0-2 with a 5.19 ERA in five career starts versus New York.

The Yankees will counter with left-hander Carlos Rodon (14-9, 4.19), who had a season-high 11 strikeouts and allowed one run over six innings in a no-decision against the Texas Rangers on Tuesday.

The 31-year-old Rodon allowed his only hit on Josh Jung’s leadoff homer in the fourth inning.

Rodon is 8-2 with a 3.08 ERA in 11 home starts this season compared to 6-7 with a 5.01 mark in 17 outings away from Yankee Stadium.

Salvador Perez is 10-for-23 against Rodon, who is 4-6 with a 4.82 ERA in 12 career games versus Kansas City.

The Yankees are expected to activate utilityman Jon Berti from the injured list before the game Monday. He has been out since May 24 with a left calf strain.

“One of the things we love about him is his versatility,” Boone said. “He’s another guy that brings speed to the bases (and) the ability to play the outfield well while also being a really good infielder.”

–Field Level Media