The Yankees have managed to right the ship a little bit this weekend, taking the first two games of this series versus the Royals. After a bit of a rocky week or so, the way to really get back on track isn’t just to win a series, but to sweep it, and ahead of a road trip that would be exactly the kind of momentum the team could really use. On a more personal level, a nice easy blowout win like yesterday would be welcome for hard-luck starter Ryan Weathers, who hasn’t seen a single run in support
in his first four starts as a Yankee.
Weathers has been … interesting to watch in those four starts. In his worst outing, earlier this week against the Angels, he had a 5:1 K:BB ratio that if replicated over a full season would almost guarantee a unanimous Cy Young season. He also gave up five runs in five innings, including back-to-back-to-back homers. Every start made by the triumvirate of Weathers, Will Warren, and Luis Gil seems like a mini-audition to stay in the rotation when Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodón return from injury, and if that happened today I’m not sure Weathers wins that contest for the final spot (even if Gil is left out as well, as he was at the start of 2026). Then again, if Weathers replicates that eight-inning, one-run showing against the Athletics two weeks ago, he’ll be back on the inside track, run support or no.
Cole Ragans, meanwhile, has been a pitcher I’ve enjoyed watching for a while, even during his injury-hampered 2025. In some ways he’s a classic crafty lefty, not having a dominant or overwhelming pitch but controlling contact quality and taking advantage of a strong Royals defense. His walk rate has been quite high to start the year, which is one avenue the Yankees could use to gameplan against him.
Ben Rice is your leadoff hitter today, taking over the DH spot while Giancarlo Stanton gets a day off amid a 1-for-22 skid (also allowing one of those back-to-back days off situations since New York doesn’t play tomorrow). Facing a lefty, Paul Goldschmidt will be at first. As Aaron Boone previously hinted, Ryan McMahon is back in the lineup today due in part to Ragans’ reverse splits, but Amed Rosario will start anyway — this time at second as Jazz Chisholm Jr. gets a day to clear his head. His 49 wRC+ ranks fifth-worst among all American League players with at least 80 PA on the young season. Fortunately for the Yankees I suppose, two of those four worse than Jazz are in today’s Royals lineup, Sal Perez (36) and Vinnie Pasquantino (46).
Please be advised the team does not expect to start the game on time.
How to watch
Location: Yankee Stadium — Bronx, NY
First pitch: 1:35 pm ET TBD
TV broadcast: YES (NYY) | Royals.TV (KC)
Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 (NYY) | 96.5 The Fan, Royals Radio Network (KC)
Streaming: MLB.tv, Gotham Sports App
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