Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) chats during batting practice before a baseball game against the Houston Astros on Friday, June 12, 2026, at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
The 2026 World Cup has started and this week we will see the first big effect on the Royals.
Parking for Royals home games has changed slightly because of the soccer. The World Cup also will affect the I-70 rivalry, which will be renewed this week when the Cardinals come to town. The Royals and Cardinals will meet for a three-game series that will last four days.
That’s different, right? It’s because there won’t be a game Saturday at Kauffman Stadium because Ecuador will face Curaçao in a World Cup match.
Broadcast coverage will be a little funky too.
Thursday’s game will be simulcast on KCTV-5, which is a traditional over-the-air option, but Friday’s will only be available as a streaming option on Apple TV. That’s a rare TV quirk for back-to-back games.
Here is how to watch or listen to the Royals’ games this week.
Monday: at Nationals, 5:45 p.m. (Royals.TV and 96.5 The Fan)
Tuesday: at Nationals, 5:45 p.m. (Royals.TV and 96.5 The Fan)
Wednesday: at Nationals, 12:45 p.m. (Royals.TV and 96.5 The Fan)
Thursday: vs. Cardinals, 6:40 p.m. (Royals.TV, KCTV-5 and 96.5 The Fan)
Friday: vs. Cardinals, 7:15 p.m. (Apple TV and 96.5 The Fan)
Sunday: vs. Cardinals, 1:10 p.m. (Royals.TV and 96.5 The Fan)
This story was originally published June 15, 2026 at 10:17 AM.
The Kansas City Star
From covering the World Series to the World Cup, Pete Grathoff has done a little bit of everything since joining The Kansas City Star in 1997.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.kansascity.com ’
