Royals announce 2026 game times, say two series will be affected by World Cup
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- Royals adjust 2026 home schedule; two series shift due to World Cup.
- KC also released game times for 2026 home games at Kauffman Stadium.
- Royals begin the 2026 season with three games in Atlanta
There are a couple of quirks in the Royals’ 2026 schedule thanks to the World Cup.
The Royals on Monday announced game times for their home games next season and said in a news release “two home series will be impacted by the World Cup at the Truman Sports Complex.”
The first is when the Cardinals will be at Kauffman Stadium. Instead of a traditional Friday to Sunday three-game series, the teams will play on Thursday, June 18 (6:40 p.m.), and Friday, June 19 (7:10 p.m.).
A group stage World Cup game will be held at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on June 20, so the Royals and Cardinals won’t play that day. The series will finish on Sunday, June 21, at 1:10 p.m.
The other series to be impacted will be against the Phillies. Again, rather than the usual Friday-Sunday series, the Royals will be off on Friday, July 3, when a World Cup Round of 32 match is scheduled.
The Royals and Phillies will start their series on Saturday, July 4, and conclude on Monday, July 6. The finale will begin at 1:10 p.m.
Home opener time
The Royals begin the 2026 season with three games in Atlanta, then return home for a series against the Twins.
The home opener is March 30 at 3:10 p.m. After an off day, the Royals and Twins will play at 6:40 p.m. on both April 1 and April 2.
Game times
All 34 Royals home games played between Monday and Thursday in the 2026 season will begin at 6:40 p.m. That’s also the first-pitch time for their Friday games in April and May.
From June until the end of the season, the Royals’ games on Friday will start at 7:10 p.m., except on Sept. 25 (6:40 p.m. first pitch).
The Royals’ dozen Saturday games will begin at three different times. There will be five 3:10 p.m. starts, six that begin at 6:10 p.m. and a July 4 game that has a 7:10 p.m. first pitch.
Weekday and Sunday games will start at 1:10 p.m. except for the season finale (2:10 p.m.) and the home opener.
