Yankees Announce Starting Pitchers for Home Series vs Streaky Guardians

Here's who'll be pitching in this week's three-game series at Yankee Stadium.

Cam Schlittler will pitch in the Yankees' series opener vs. the Guardians on Tuesday. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

The Yankees are officially back in the Bronx with a lot of momentum on their side now that their six-game road trip is behind them. The brief trip was almost perfect, as the Yankees swept the Royals before winning two of three games against the Athletics, including an explosive series-clinching 13-8 victory on Sunday.

After Monday's off day, the Yankees will begin their next series when the American League Central-leading Guardians come to town on Tuesday. These AL contenders will see a lot of each other in the next few weeks, as they'll square off in another three-game series—this time at Progressive Field—early next week.

The Yankees are currently 1.5 games behind the Rays for the American League lead, while the Guardians trail by 4.5 games, highlighting the importance of this series. Having said that, the clubs are trending in opposite directions lately, with New York winning six of its last seven games and Cleveland going 3-5 in its last eight.

The series' pitching matchups will factor into how things unfold this week, so let's dive into the Yankees' upcoming starting pitchers vs. the Guardians now that they've been announced.

Tuesday, June 2 (7:05 p.m. ET): Cam Schlittler (NYY) vs. Joey Cantillo (CLE)

Can Cam Schittler continue his AL Cy Young case against the Guardians? | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Cam Schlittler has impressively pitched his way into being the Yankees' ace. Now, the AL CY Young favorite (+100, 1st on FanDuel Sportsbook) will look to further his case in the award race when he goes one-on-one with the Guardians' Joey Cantillo in the series opener.

Schlittler—who's 7-2 with an AL-best 1.50 ERA in 12 starts—is coming off a six-strikeout, one-run performance against the Royals on May 26. The 25-year-old righty has now allowed one or zero earned runs in seven of his last eight appearances, showing no signs of slowing down.

It's the first time that Schlittler will face the Guardians in his career, making it interesting to see how that goes. He's only earned one win in four home starts compared to six victories across eight road appearances, though, so it'd be nice to see another tally added to that column on Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, Cantillo will be looking to rebound after allowing four earned runs and as many walks across two innings in a 6-3 loss to the lowly Nationals last week. He's now allowed four earned runs in two of his last three starts, as well as in three of his last six. It's safe to say that the Guardians had a hard time predicting what version of Cantillo would appear in May.

Cantillo's only previous trip to Yankee Stadium saw him allow seven earned runs and two homers on six hits in four innings back on Aug. 21, 2024—good for a 15.75 ERA. With the way the Yankees have been swinging their bats lately, perhaps lightning will strike twice.

Wednesday, June 3 (7:05 p.m. ET): Gerrit Cole (NYY) vs. Gavin Williams (CLE)

Gerrit Cole will be searching for his second win of the season when he takes on the Guardians on Tuesday. | Denny Medley-Imagn Images

It's a tiny sample size, but Gerrit Cole has been wheeling and dealing since returning to the Yankees' rotation.

The flame-throwing right-hander has pitched 12 2/3 scoreless innings through his first two appearances of the season. Cole has struck out 12 batters while allowing only six hits along the way, and that's without mentioning that he's surrendered fewer walks per nine innings (2.1) compared to his career average (2.3). Additionally, he's holding opposing batters to a .143/.200/.190 slash line, while his 20.0% hard-hit rate is nearly half of the MLB average (38.8%).

Cole has also gotten the better of the Guardians more often than not throughout his time in the majors. He's squared off against Cleveland 11 times in the regular season so far, going 7-2 with a 2.82 ERA and 73 strikeouts in 73 1/3 innings. He also hasn't lost to the Guardians in five outings since the start of the 2022 season, including a six-inning shutout performance in his last encounter in August 2024.

Although he doesn't have Cole's résumé, Gavin Williams has plenty of reasons to feel confident before Wednesday's clash. The Fayetteville, NC native paces the American League in wins (8) and innings pitched (76 1/3) while pitching to a 3.07 ERA in 12 starts. He's even won each of his last three appearances, allowing just three earned runs while striking out 22 batters in 21 innings.

Much like Cantillo's, Williams's lone trip to Yankee Stadium didn't go his way. He pitched 4 1/3 innings against the Bombers on Aug. 22, 2024, allowing three earned runs and a homer on four hits while issuing a quartet of walks in a 6-0 win for the Yankees. He pitched better when he beat New York in Cleveland last season; however, Williams doesn't have the benefit of a home crowd's support this time around.

If Williams learned from his mistakes, though, he and Cole could put on quite the pitching clinic on Wednesday evening.

Thursday, June 4 (1:35 p.m. ET): Carlos Rodon (NYY) vs. Slade Cecconi (CLE)

Carlos Rodón will be aiming for his second consecutive win in the Yankees-Guardians series finale. | Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images

After an 0-2 start through three appearances in 2026 (mostly due to a lack of run support), Carlos Rodón is officially back on track.

The Yankees' southpaw notched his first win of the year during Friday's 8-2 victory over the Athletics, as he struck out three batters while allowing only one earned run on as many hits in six innings—his longest appearance of the year. Additionally, New York's bats provided Rodón with proper run support, as the eight runs scored were more than he saw in his first three outings (six).

Interestingly enough, the Guardians' success against lefties this season could give Rodón a run for his money. After all, Cleveland ranks high in statistics vs. left-handed pitchers when it comes to hits (156, 4th), home runs (17, T-11th), walks drawn (72, T-4th), batting average (.259, 5th), and OPS (.744, 9th).

On the flip side, the Yankees will face Slade Cecconi, who's 3-5 with a 5.25 ERA through 12 starts. Although all three of his victories have come on the road, Cecconi's away ERA (5.74) is still slightly worse than what he's doing in Cleveland (4.19). Batters also own a .825 OPS against him when he's the road starter, which should excite New York's lineup.

Cecconi is also winless in two all-time starts against the Yankees. However, he does own a respectable 3.52 ERA over 7 2/3 innings for his efforts. Still, that might not matter when he runs into a red-hot New York team that scored an average of 9.4 runs in the last five games before this series.

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