About Last Night: Yankees 4, Royals 2

About Last Night: Taking Baby Steps. Yankees 4-Royals 2

By Tim Kabel

April 18, 2026

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Last night, the Yankees beat the Royals 4-2 behind very solid pitching from Cam Schlittler and offense provided by Ben Rice and Ryan McMahon. Yes, you read that correctly. Ryan McMahon, who did not start the game, came in as a defensive replacement but ultimately hit the game-winning two-run home run which barely cleared the fence in left field. The length of the home run is not important. The fact that McMahon hit it and the Yankees won the game is really all that matters. Is this a turning point for the Yankees? Is it a turning point for McMahon? Let's not get carried away.

The Yankees are 15-3 against the Royals since the start of 2024. The Royals are 7-13 this season and have now lost five games in a row. So, we need to keep things in perspective. If the Yankees can't beat the Royals, the season may be even longer than most of us think it will be.

Cam Schlittler pitched 6 innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 run. He struck out 6 and walked 2. He has walked a total of 3 batters in 27.2 innings. His strikeout to walk ratio is 12:1. His ERA for the season is 1.95. He did what the Yankees need him to do. At this point, the Yankees need to win as many games started by Max Fried and Cam Schlittler as possible. The other starting pitchers are question marks and in the case of Ryan Weathers and Luis Gil, at their very best, they are question marks.

Ben Rice had two hits, including his sixth home run of the season. He drove in two runs and is now batting .339 with six home runs and sixteen RBI for the season. Unless he needs a day off for rest, he should be playing every day. I have a funny feeling that tomorrow Rice may sit against the left-handed pitcher in favor of Paul Goldschmidt. We will see. Since the Royals are pitching left-handers in the next two games, I would bet Dr. Semendinger's house that Rice will sit for at least one of those games. (Editor's Note - Please don't bet my house.)

There were still areas of concern in last night's game. The Yankees had a total of five hits. Other than McMahon's home run, the other four hits came from Ben Rice, who had two, Aaron Judge, and Cody Bellinger. No one else had a hit. Trent Grisham is batting .145. Jazz Chisholm is batting 174. Austin Wells is batting .184. Jose Caballero is hitting better than any of them at a measly .215. Camilo Doval gave up the tying run at the time by allowing a home run to Vinny Pasquantino in the 8th inning. Doval's ERA is 7.56.

Well, it wasn't a dominant win, but it was a win. The Yankees took the first game of the series from the Royals. The Yankees are now 11-9 in their first 20 games. Let's see what happens over the rest of the weekend and then when they begin playing potentially tougher competition.

A Few Tidbits:

·       The Yankees are 3-7 in their last 10 games.

·       McMahon's home run was his first extra base hit of the season. It was also only his sixth hit. 

·       Batters had been 0-19 against Wacha's change-up this season before Rice hit his home run.

·       This was the 9th consecutive win for the Yankees against Kansas City including a playoff series two years ago. 

·       The Yankees 6th through 9th place hitters were 1-10 last night. That one hit was McMahon's home run. He wasn't even in the starting lineup. When you add in Trent Grisham’s 0-4, that is a pretty dismal stretch of the lineup for the Yankees. That will need to change if they expect to have a winning record this year.

·       Gerrit Cole pitched 4 1/3 innings in his first rehab start for AA Somerset last night. He threw 36 of his 44 pitches for strikes. He allowed three hits, including a two-run home run and one walk while striking out three. In the same game, Anthony Volpe was 1-2 with a stolen base. He scored two runs. He is batting .286. George Lombard, Jr. was 2-4 with a stolen base and two runs scored. He is batting .400 with a 1.138 OPS.

·      Jasson Dominguez had two more hits last night and is batting .333 with 2 home runs, 9 RBI, and 8 stolen bases, with a .937 OPS. 

·      Spencer Jones hit a home run last night and is batting .262 with 4 home runs, 20 RBI, and 4 stolen bases. His OPS is .919. 

The Yankees hope to win today when they face the Royals at 1:35 PM at Yankee Stadium.  Will Warren, (1-0, 2.46 ERA) will face Noah Cameron, (1-0, 3.94 ERA).