Should bettors focus on laying -1.5 runs on the Yankees because upcoming money lines are going to be so exorbitant?

Important question, because the Yankees are in the midst of a series with the hapless Royals that will see very high betting lines.

Up next, two games with the lowly Orioles at the Stadium. The next homestand will feature the Rangers and a makeup game with the Mets. Down the road, the White Sox, Tigers and Twins all come to town.

If you like betting the Yankees, this may be your defining choice in this second stage of the season. You will be confronted with the issue on almost a daily basis, even in many road games.

We talked about run lines the other day regarding the Red Sox. Bettors choosing a favorite with this proposition pay less vigorish, but must lay -1.5 runs.

That means the favorite must win by two runs or more to cash the ticket.

Do the Yankees win enough blowouts to justify the strategy?

Century City: Yankees after 100 games

Those 16 wins become losses if you’re laying -1.5 runs. So, 64-36 would be 48-52 if the Yankees had to lay -1.5 every time out.

Needing to win by at least two runs may not feel like vigorish. But, you’re “paying” 1.5 runs to get that cheaper price. And, there’s an additional hidden cost in home games. You’ll often lose 11 percent of your scoring opportunities because the Yankees won’t bat in the bottom of the ninth inning with a lead. Laying -1.5 runs in a home game means you have to win by two or more even if the Yankees bat only eight times while the opponent gets its guaranteed nine. Are you ready to start in a hole and lose an offensive inning?

The sharpest strategy is to consider the Yankees -1.5 in road games with clear blowout scenarios that the market may have underestimated (facing a pitcher and relievers the Yankees should crush in their nine offensive innings). It’s a much dicier proposition in home games because of higher prices and fewer scoring opportunities.