Anthony Volpe came up big for the New York Yankees on Monday night, leading them to a one-run win in their series opener against the Kansas City Royals.
Now, New York turns to youngster Cam Schlittler, who has been elite in the 2026 season to keep their winning streak going. Schlittler has a 1.50 ERA this season, leading the Yankees to eight wins in 11 starts.
The Royals are starting lefty Bailey Falter, who should act as an opener on Tuesday night. He started his last game and pitched two innings, and Falter hasn’t thrown more than three innings in any outing in 2026.
New York is heavily favored on the road as it looks to gain more ground on the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East. The Yankees are currently 3.5 games back after winning the series opener against KC while the Rays lost to Baltimore on Monday.
Here’s a breakdown of the odds, a player prop to bet and my prediction for Tuesday’s Game 2.
Yankees vs. Royals Odds, Run Line and Total
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
Run Line
- Yankees -1.5 (-125)
- Royals +1.5 (+104)
Moneyline
- Yankees: -205
- Royals: +168
Total
- 8.5 (Over -120/Under -101)
Yankees vs. Royals Probable Pitchers
- New York: Cam Schlittler (6-2, 1.50 ERA)
- Kansas City: Bailey Falter (0-1, 9.82 ERA)
Yankees vs. Royals How to Watch
- Date: Tuesday, May 26
- Time: 7:40 p.m. EST
- Venue: Kauffman Stadium
- How to Watch (TV): YES Network, Royals.TV
- Yankees record: 32-22
- Royals record: 22-32
Yankees vs. Royals Best MLB Prop Bets
Yankees Best MLB Prop Bet
- Cam Schlittler UNDER 4.5 Hits Allowed (+110)
Earlier today, I shared in SI Betting’s MLB Best Bets column – Walk-Off Wagers – why Schlittler is a great target against Kansas City:
Schlittler has proven that his strong finish to the 2025 season wasn’t a fluke, posting a 1.50 ERA across 11 starts in the 2026 season heading into Tuesday’s matchup with Kansas City.
The young right-hander faced Kansas City back on April 17, allowing just three hits and one unearned run across six innings of work, punching out six. He’s only given up 44 hits in 66.0 innings of work this season, allowing four or fewer hits in seven of his 11 outings.
So, I’m buying Schlittler in this plus-money prop against a Kansas City team that ranks 20th in OPS, 17th in batting average and 16th in hits in the 2026 season.
Schlittler has an expected ERA of 2.60 (91st percentile) and an expected batting average against of .213 (80th percentile). He should be lights out once again on Tuesday.
Yankees vs. Royals Prediction and Pick
The Yankees have dominated in Schlittler’s starts this season, going 8-3, including a 4-2 win over this Kansas City team.
Schlittler hasn’t allowed more than three runs in any start in the 2026 season, and he’s given up just four runs in the month of May. So, it’s not surprising that the Yankees are dominating in his starts, especially since New York is fourth in MLB in runs scored and third in OPS.
New York is just 26-28 on the run line in the 2026 season, but the Royals are even worse (23-31).
With Falter on the mound and the shaky Kansas City bullpen behind him (4.67 ERA this season), I think New York can win this game by two or more runs.
Pick: Yankees -1.5 (-125 at DraftKings)
Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com ’
