Cam Schlittler gets the ball against Jacob deGrom on April 28, 2026, in a matchup that pairs one of baseball’s sharpest young starters with a veteran who has looked like himself again. The Yankees arrived at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas with a chance to win the series after beating the Rangers 4-2 the night before.
Schlittler enters with a 1.77 ERA, a 1.53 FIP, 41 strikeouts and four walks, and his 10.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio leads MLB. He was coming off eight innings in his Massachusetts homecoming against the Red Sox, and the Yankees have liked what they have seen from him all season.
DeGrom, 37, gave Texas the kind of form it hoped for when he came back in 2025 with an All-Star season and a 30-start workload. Through five starts in 2026, he has a 2.13 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 25.1 innings, and he punched out 10 Pirates hitters in his last outing. The Rangers have been managing him carefully because of his pitch count, which makes every deep start feel like a small victory.
The Yankees’ lineup also looks different because Giancarlo Stanton was placed on the injured list before the game. Stanton’s absence removes a hitter who has a.333 career average with four home runs against deGrom, and it sends Jasson Domínguez back into the designated hitter spot for another start. Max Schuemann was recalled in the corresponding move.
Texas made its own changes after Joc Pederson homered as a pinch hitter off Camilo Doval last night. Danny Jansen is catching instead of Kyle Higashioka, and Josh Smith is starting at second base in place of Ezequiel Duran. The timing matters because the Yankees are still pushing for a series victory while the Rangers try to steady a lineup that has already been reshaped once before first pitch.
Did you remember that Jacob deGrom started 30 games last season? That line from the 2025 turnaround still hangs over this matchup, because the question is no longer whether he can help the Rangers — it is how much of him they can use without asking too much of the arm they are trying to preserve.
Amazon Prime Video is carrying the Yankees broadcast, while Rangers Sports Network has the Texas feed. WFAN 660/101.9 FM and WADO 1280 are airing the Yankees radio call, with 105.3 The Fan and KFLC 1270 on the Rangers side, and the game is also listed on Amazon Prime Video and MLB.tv online.
