KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Yankees opened a three-game series against the Royals on Monday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium, arriving on Memorial Day with momentum from Aaron Judge’s walk-off, two-run blast that ended Sunday’s homestand on a high. A Saturday postponement in the Yankees’ weekend series against the Rays kept both clubs from gaining ground in the AL East, but the trip now shifts the spotlight to a Kansas City team trying to steady itself behind its rotation and a New York club leaning on pitching depth.
Will Warren took the mound with a 6-1 record, and the Yankees had scored 7.8 runs per game through his first 10 starts of 2026 when he pitched. That kind of run support has helped mask the rough stretch he endured earlier this month against the Rangers, and it gives New York a chance to keep pressure on a Royals club that has not gotten enough from several core bats. Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Pérez have all underperformed this year, even as Bobby Witt Jr. has continued to lead the league in hits.
The matchup also carried extra weight because Michael Wacha was lined up as Kansas City’s best starter to that point. He had already shown what he could do against New York, throwing six innings of three-hit ball against the Yankees in the Bronx earlier this season. Wacha had finished at least seven innings four times on the year, including a couple of times in May, and the Royals were hoping that kind of length would cover for a bullpen that ranked 23rd in bullpen ERA and 26th in bullpen WHIP.
That relief work has been an issue all season, and Kansas City’s fifth starter spot has been patched together with Bailey Falter and Luinder Avila. Falter worked as an opener and Avila served as the bulk option on May 19, when the Royals lost at home to the Red Sox. Avila still managed three scoreless innings that night, a reminder that the Royals can get pieces of the job done even if the full pitching picture has been uneven. The club has largely operated with four true starters and has been forced to improvise every time the fifth turn comes around.
Across the diamond, the Yankees came in with a different kind of pitching question. Cam Schlittler, who owned a 1.50 ERA and led the league in that category, was set to face a repeat opponent for the first time in 2026 after being on the winning end of his matchup with Wacha last month. New York had also pushed him to a season-high 106 pitches in each of his previous two starts, a sign the Yankees trust his arm but are watching his workload closely as the schedule tightens. For a Memorial Day meeting that began with one team trying to build on a Sunday win and the other trying to survive its own pitching patchwork, the first game of Yankees vs Royals offered more than a holiday matinee. It offered a look at which club could sustain pressure first.
