Game one of today’s doubleheader against the Royals went about as poorly as possible. The Yankees downright embarrassed themselves this afternoon. The good news, however, is that they get a chance to make up for it tonight. A clean slate is on tap for the Bombers. The Yankees will turn to CC Sabathia to right the ship. The veteran left-hander has pitched to a 3.51 ERA with a 4.55 FIP over 100 innings. The Royals roughed him up for four runs (two earned) over across five innings back in May. Let’s hope tonight’s start turns out better. As for Kansas City, Heath Fillmyer gets the ball. The rookie right-hander has made two starts this season around a handful of relief appearances. In terms of starting, he held the Tigers to two runs (one earned) over 6.2 innings. He also spotted the Red Sox four runs (three earned) in a 4.1 inning appearance. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM. You can watch on YES or stream with FOX Sports Go. You can also tune into the radio broadcast on WFAN 660/101.9 FM or WADO 1280. Go Yankees! Game 2 coming up. Powered by @Biofreeze pic.twitter.com/CDQfvfYxWz — New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 28, 2018<doc-sep>When these the teams met in Kansas City back in May, the Yankees took two out of three. It was semi-disappointing that they didn’t sweep at the time, and it only looks worse now. The Royals currently have the second-worst record in baseball, having lost 69 games. The Yankees will look to do better than this time in the Bronx, and you would think they have a decent shot. Jorge Soler has been one of the Royals’ best hitters this season, but he’s out with an injury. Mike Moustaskas may very well be on #hugwatch at some point in this series. Several of Kansas City’s pitchers sound like players from a novel about baseball. Let’s see how the pitching matchups shake out as the Royals head to Yankee Stadium. Game One: Sonny Gray vs. Jakob Junis As you may know, Gray’s most recent couple starts were...actually pretty okay. There’s been false dawns with him before this season, but stringing together two solid games like he has is a good start. Now he has a legitimate chance at a third against a bad Royals team. One of his other few good outings this year also came against them. Junis is admittedly the only Royals’ pitcher in this series whose name I recognized. He got off to a really good start this year, but in his game logs you can see things progressively get worse as the year goes along. His July 21st start against the Twins was the first time he’s allowed fewer than three runs since May 23rd. He also only lasted four innings. Game Two: CC Sabathia vs. Brad Keller Sabathia’s main problem this season is losing effectiveness once he gets into the third time through the order. That’s a thing a lot of pitchers go through, but it’s been pretty much the main issue with him. For this game, he’s getting an extra day of rest thanks to the Mets game rain out shifting the schedule. Who knows if that’ll help Sabathia, but it’s a possibility. First up on the list of random Royals pitchers is Brad Keller. He’s made nine starts this year, but has appeared in 21 other games out of the bullpen. He’s been a regular in Kansas City’s rotation since the end of May, and has been decent. He thew a scoreless innings against the Yankees back on May 18th in his only career meeting with New York. Game Three: Luis Severino vs. Heath Fillmyer Were the season to end today, Severino would deservedly be in award conversations. He’s been excellent. His recent starts have not been, however. In his last three outings, the Yankees’ ace has allowed 14 runs, 13 earned, in a combined 15 innings. The Royals are a team that you would think he could get back on track against, so there is that. Fillmyer is another recent addition to the rotation after having spent time in the bullpen. He made his major-league debut near the end of June, and had made two starts earlier this month. Last time out, Fillmyer gave up one earned run in 6.2 innings in the second of those two starts. It should be noted that was against the Tigers, and one would think the Yankees’ offense is a tad better than the Tigers. Game Four: Masahiro Tanaka vs. Burch Smith Tanaka is fresh off a shutout against the Rays. He’s been good in general since returning from the DL. It’s only three starts, but he’s allowed just five runs in 19.2 innings while striking out 19 hitters. Last on the list of MLB The Show fake franchise mode players from 2024 is Burch Smith. This is Smith’s second career season in the majors, having previously thrown 36.1 innings with the Padres all the way back in 2013. He entered the rotation in mid-July and has a 6.17 ERA in three starts. That’s not great, but it’s better than where his ERA was back in June, so maybe he’s better?<doc-sep>
The Yankees offense backed up Sonny Gray yesterday as they came away with a relatively easy 7-2 victory over the Royals. Bombers fans also got their first look at one of the shiny new toys Brian Cashman got for Aaron Boone as Zach Britton pitched a scoreless 1-2-3 inning in his Yankee debut. Unfortunately, yesterday’s win wasn’t all good news. After Jakob Junis hit Aaron Judge in the wrist in the first inning, Judge eventually left to get an MRI which revealed a chip fracture. He’s expected to miss at least three weeks. The good news, though, is that timetable is “realistic,” per Aaron Boone. Boone said the estimate is that Judge could return and play in a game in 3 weeks. Called that a "realistic timeline." Said that Judge would start taking some "dry swings" in about a week. — Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) July 27, 2018 Not the worst news. Hopefully that’s all there is to this and Judge comes back healthy and strong. CC Sabathia takes the mound for the Yankees tonight as they look to stay winning. Beating teams like the Royals is an absolute must for a team that’s been skidding slightly. Outside of Judge’s absence, the lineup looks pretty much normal. Friday in the Bronx. Powered by @Biofreeze pic.twitter.com/6IHCdcO1Md — New York Yankees (@Yankees) July 27, 2018 With Judge on the disabled list, Aaron Boone said that Giancarlo Stanton, who is a Yankee now, will get the majority of starts in the two-hole. Rookie Brad Keller is taking the ball for the Royals. Keller will be making just the 10th start of his young career, but he’s pitched pretty well so far. Here’s the lineup Ned Yost will send out to back him up. Brad Keller gets the ball tonight as the #Royals take on the Yankees. #RaisedRoyal pic.twitter.com/Z8zhd4hIkl — Kansas City Royals (@Royals) July 27, 2018 How to watch Location: Yankee Stadium First pitch: 7:05 PM Eastern Daylight Time TV broadcast: WPIX Radio broadcast: WFAN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 Go Yankees, go baseball. Hopefully the weather cooperates.