After holding on for a 2-1 win in Chicago, the Yankees head back home after a winning road trip. There, they’ll play host to a middling Cardinals team, one that’s been above .500 on the road but has been struggling recently. For New York, this series comes at the end of a run of 13 games without an off day, one that has put the strength and depth of its bullpen to the test. This should also be the first time the Yankees run out Luis García Jr., acquired on Sunday afternoon in a deal with the Nationals
to bolster the offense.
The Yankees offense will contend with a pitching staff that has enjoyed great health this season, with all five of its starters already well over 100 innings pitched, including the three the Yankees will face in this series: Michael McGreevy, Dustin May, and Andre Pallante. All three of them are right-handers which might help García’s introduction, with the former National doing most of his damage this year against righties.
In case your last exposure to the Cardinals was the Home Run Derby and you were wondering how Jordan Walker has been doing since that amazing display—the answer is not very good. Walker has a .548 OPS in 16 games since the All-Star Break with no home runs. The Cardinals on the whole are fading, now four games out of a playoff spot after dropping seven of their last ten.
Monday: Cam Schlittler vs. Michael McGreevy (7:05 pm ET)
Having made four of his five July starts on the road, Cam Schlittler takes the mound at Yankee Stadium for the first time since a loss to the Dodgers in one of his shortest outings of the season—in that start versus the reigning champs, Schlittler only covered 4.1 innings and allowed three runs. The Yankees’ most stable pitcher in 2026 and one of the best in the sport, Schlittler hasn’t been his most dominant self at Yankee Stadium, with a 3.83 ERA in nine starts at home.
Michael McGreevy takes on the Yankees coming off his worst two-outing stretch of the season by a wide margin, having allowed 11 earned runs in games versus the Diamondbacks and Cubs. Among all qualified pitchers in the National League, only Michael King has received worse run support than McGreevy, with the Cards averaging 3.29 runs when he is on the mound.
Tuesday: (Probable) Dustin May vs. Ryan Weathers (7:05 pm ET)
His last time out, the Yankees might not have won, but Ryan Weathers delivered a winning performance against the White Sox in what it meant for the big picture with a tired bullpen. Weathers fired seven shutout innings, but his offense failed him in a game that was tied at 0-0 after nine innings, forcing a few relievers to enter the game in high-leverage spots. What Weathers did, though, was give the Yankees a chance on a day the offense was virtually nonexistent. With the rotation getting healthier and healthier, stability and length are all the team really requires of Weathers, the latter something to watch for as his career-high in innings pitched gets bigger and bigger.
Dustin May has had an unremarkable campaign with the Cards, keeping the ball in the yard with a career-low 0.58 HR/9 but running a middling 4.38 ERA. His home run rate merits mention because the last time May faced the Yankees, playing for the Red Sox in the end of last season, he allowed three long balls in a 7-2 loss. What will win out: the 2026 track record or May’s last memory of Yankee Stadium, his only ever appearance against the Yankees?
Wednesday: (Probable) Andre Pallante vs. Will Warren (7:05 pm ET)
Will Warren found success in his last outing with an alteration to his usual pitch mix, relying more heavily on a changeup as a weapon against left-handed hitters. While the Cardinals might not have the same thump as the Cubs, they do have a lot of lefties in the lineup, encouraging Warren to follow up on what we just saw work.
Easily the biggest turnaround story in the Cardinals pitching staff from a year ago, Andre Pallante isn’t blowing anybody away with his numbers, but he’s found success by minimizing the exposure of his four-seam fastball. Pallante has further diversified his arsenal to not rely so often on a pitch that allowed a .528 SLG last year, a move that has worked, with the right-hander posting a 3.72 ERA, a run and a half lower than the 5.31 mark of a season ago.
