Cole’s Command, Rice’s Bat Power Yankees Past Royals

by John Nielsen

May 28, 2026

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Behind dominant pitching from Gerrit Cole and timely hitting from Ben Rice, the suddenly red-hot New York Yankees completed a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals with a 7–0 victory Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

The Yankees (34–22) won their fourth straight game and climbed to within 1.5 games of first-place Tampa Bay in the AL East while securing the second-best record in the American League. The victory also marked New York’s 14th consecutive regular-season win over the struggling Royals (22–34).

Cole (1–0) looked every bit like the ace the Yankees have missed. The right-hander overwhelmed Kansas City hitters with precision command and overpowering stuff, striking out 10 over 6 2/3 shutout innings while allowing just four hits and no walks on 79 pitches.

Cole threw 59 strikes and consistently attacked hitters with 96–99 mph fastballs up and in while keeping them off balance with fading changeups away in the mid-80s. He struck out two batters in each of the first three innings, immediately signaling that his dominant form had returned.

The Yankees’ defense helped preserve the early scoreless tie with two standout plays.

Leading off the first inning, Jose Caballero — making his first start in left field this season and only the third of his career — made a spectacular diving catch on a 114 mph line drive off the bat of Maikel Garcia.

Two innings later, with Michael Massey on second and two outs, Garcia lined a single to right field that appeared destined to score the game’s first run. Instead, Aaron Judge fielded the ball cleanly on a hop and unleashed a perfect throw home on the fly to Austin Wells, who applied a sweep tag to cut down Massey at the plate. The play energized the Yankees dugout and shifted momentum decisively in New York’s favor.

The next inning, the Yankees finally broke through against Royals left-hander Noah Cameron (2–4).

Paul Goldschmidt opened the inning with a single to left before Rice — continuing his assault on left-handed pitching — ripped a 104 mph opposite-field liner that caromed wildly off the wall and into foul territory. Goldschmidt chugged home easily while Rice raced into third with his team-leading 28th extra-base hit and first triple of the season.

Judge followed with a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Rice and giving New York a 2–0 lead.

Meanwhile, Cole continued piling up strikeouts. He fanned one in the fourth, two more in the fifth, and caught Massey looking to begin the sixth inning, recording his 28th career Yankees start with at least 10 strikeouts.

The Yankees put the game away in the seventh.

Trent Grisham delivered a pinch-hit single to lead off, Anthony Volpe walked, and Ryan McMahon singled to load the bases. After consecutive unproductive outs from Caballero and Wells, Goldschmidt worked a professional RBI walk against reliever Nick Mears to extend the lead to 3–0.

Rice followed with another clutch two-out swing, grounding a two-run single through the right side to make it 5–0 and raise his team-leading RBI total to 37.

Cole exited with two outs in the seventh after allowing a single to Salvatore Perez. Fernando Cruz entered and retired Lane Thomas on a fly ball to Judge to end the inning.

McMahon added the finishing touch in the eighth, launching his fifth home run of the season to the opposite field for a two-run shot that pushed the lead to 7–0.

Cruz worked a clean eighth before Camilo Doval slammed the door in the ninth, pumping 102 mph fastballs and inducing three routine ground-ball outs to complete the shutout.

The Yankees are off today before opening a three-game series Friday night in Sacramento against the Athletics (27-29).

GAME NOTES:

• The Yankees’ run differential improved to +89, best in the American League by 60 runs.

• Cole, after missing all of 2025, has opened the 2026 season with 12.2 consecutive scoreless innings, striking out 12 while walking three.

• Rice, Goldschmidt, and McMahon each collected two hits.

• Rice raised his OPS to 1.006 and continues building a compelling American League MVP case. Rice is also attacking left-handed pitching at an OPS+ of 169.

• Grisham’s pinch-hit single raised his batting average to .206 (he's finally "Off the Interstate") and his OPS to .704.

• The Yankees are expected to start Carlos Rodón on Friday, Ryan Weathers on Saturday, and Will Warren on Sunday against the Athletics.