New York Yankees vs. Kansas City Royals: Series Preview

Q: What are the pitching matchups for the Yankees vs. Royals series?

The matchups are Cam Schlittler vs. Michael Wacha on Friday, Will Warren vs. Noah Cameron on Saturday, and Ryan Weathers vs. Cole Ragans on Sunday.

Q: How have the Yankees performed recently before facing the Royals?

The Yankees recently split their series against the Angels, with two wins requiring ninth-inning comebacks and two losses that were particularly frustrating.

Q: What is the current record of the Kansas City Royals?

The Kansas City Royals currently have a record of 7-12 after their recent loss.

Q: What are the key statistics for Michael Wacha this season?

Michael Wacha has had an outstanding start to the season, allowing just one run in 21 innings across three starts.

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - APRIL 14: Bobby Witt Jr. #7 of the Kansas City Royals throws the ball to get Wenceel Pérez #46 of the Detroit Tigers out at first base during the bottom of the second inning at Comerica Park on April 14, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images) | Getty Images Earlier this week, the Yankees picked up a split in their series against the Angels, but it was a lot of work to get there. The two wins required ninth inning comebacks, while the two losses were both of the very dumb variety. With that over, the Yankees will remain home and welcome the Royals to town for a weekend matchup. With the exception of the Dodgers, every team in baseball has gotten off to a middling start to the season, but the Royals sit at the lower end of that. Following a loss on Thursday, they sit at 7-12. Their lineup has been more to blame, as even Bobby Witt Jr. has gotten off to a bit of a slow start. Can the Yankees keep that going, or will we be sitting here Sunday night frustrated at another annoying series? Let’s look at what the pitching matchups might have in store. **Friday: Cam Schlittler vs. Michael Wacha (7:05 pm ET)** After a remarkable first two starts on the season, Schlittler has given up some runs in the last two, albeit both times, it was just three in five innings. The most remarkable stat of all was that a walk he issued in his most recent game against the was the first he issued all season. The veteran Wacha has gotten off to an incredible start to his age 34 season. In 21 innings across three starts, he’s given up just one run. In his perfectly fine 2025 season, he put up 3.6 fWAR and 3.8 rWAR, and he’s already at 0.6 and 1.1 respectively in 2026. Now, a non-zero amount of that had to do with throwing eight scoreless against a very bad offense in his last game, but the Yankees’ offense hasn’t covered themselves in glory so far, so we shall see. **Saturday: vs. (1:35 pm ET)** With a 2.45 ERA in his four starts so far, Warren has mostly been perfectly fine so far. That being said, he’s only lasted a full five innings once so far, and he did allowed four unearned runs in his last game. He’s also only issued six walks in 18.1 innings on the season, but if you look at the ball-strike breakdown, he has a habit of letting counts go long. While the Royals haven’t taken a ton of walks, they’ve struck out less than league average, so if he can’t put batters away cleanly and quickly in this one, that could lead to some danger. Cameron debuted last season and had a very nice campaign, finishing fourth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. However in his lone game against the Yankees so far, they did tag him for six runs in 5.2 innings last year on June 10th in . His stats on 2026 so far are fine, but he has allowed a higher rate of hits so far. **Sunday: vs. (1:35 pm ET)** Weathers’ 4.29 ERA only grades out as a little worse than league average. However, his start to the season feels way worse than that because he’s been a roller coaster. He has two pretty good starts, including one against the A’s where he gave up just one run in eight inning. However, his two bad starts have been very bad, including getting roughed up by the Angels earlier this week. After a fourth place Cy Young finish in 2024, Ragans was limited to just 61.2 innings last year due to injury. He appears to be back and healthy this year, but did have to leave a start in the first inning a couple weeks ago after . His 3.78 ERA grades out as solid, but his 8.6 K/9 rate is way down from where it has been, including in 2024.