Things Are Getting Bleak for the Royals and Fanbase

I was able to attend my eighth game of the year at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday evening. The game started out promising, even with "opener" Bailey Falter allowing a run in the top half of the first inning. The Royals tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the first, thanks to a double down the right field line that scored Bobby Witt Jr and got Salvador Perez into scoring position at third base with one out.

Unfortunately, the Royals weren't able to cash in with less than two outs. Jac Caglianone grounded out to first base in a close play that was challenged (the call stood as an out), and Starling Marte grounded out to third to end the inning and the possible rally. 

The first inning was not just a microcosm of the Royals' 7-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox, but the 2026 season in general.

With their second straight loss to the Red Sox, Kansas City has not won a series since the Tigers series at home from May 8th to the 10th. This month, which started promising with a sweep of the Mariners in Seattle, has been a disappointing one through May 19th. They are 8-10, which is a better pace than the 10-17 April they experienced. However, it's not exactly the "turnaround" this club was hoping for after a brutal first full month of play. 

So what is going on with this Royals team? Why is this team nine games under .500 and sitting in the cellar of the AL Central, a division that's pretty weak to begin with? (Only the AL West is worse.) There are plenty of reasons, which I will break down in this post.

That said, the season is starting to get a little clearer for the Royals after nearly 50 games. Unfortunately, it's not trending in a positive direction, especially compared to the preseason expectations. 

Scoring Runs Remains the Problem for the Royals

During the postgame press conference, a reporter asked manager Matt Quatraro whether the Royals were around league average in most offensive categories...except runs scored. Quatraro agreed and also pointed out that they were performing well in many underlying categories, like hard-hit rate. However, the sentiment remained the same among everyone in the room, Quatraro included: the Royals aren't doing a good job of bringing runners home.

According to Fangraphs, the Royals rank 25th in baseball in runs scored. When looking at their performance with runners in scoring position, the data is even bleaker.

In RISP situations this year, the Royals have the second-worst wRC+ in baseball with an 81 wRC+. The only team worse? The Boston Red Sox, with a 79 wRC+. Considering the Red Sox scored seven runs today, it wouldn't be surprising to see them past the Royals on May 20th on Fangraphs, when all that data updates overnight. 

Many factors contribute to the Royals' struggles in RISP situations this season.

They rank 17th in BB%, at 11.5%. That is not great, but it's not terrible. They also rank 17th in K% at 21.2%. Thus,  they're around the same mark as their walks. The biggest areas where the RISP metrics start to look bad are in the areas of batting average and ISO. They rank 25th in batting average with a .229 mark and 29th in isolated power with a .104 mark. 

It's hard to score runs when hits aren't falling, and the batted balls are not going for power. 

When looking at the Royals' hitters individually, here's how they break down in RISP situations this year, as of May 19th.

Nick Loftin, Jonathan India, Witt, and Kyle Isbel have been elite with runners in scoring position this year. All four have wRC+ marks of 145 or higher in RISP situations. Unfortunately, India is out for the remainder of the season due to a shoulder injury. 

When it comes to Royals hitters who have struggled in RISP situations, some names are tough to stomach. Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvy were expected to carry this Royals offense in the No. 3 and 4 spots, respectively. They have RISP wRC+ marks of 27 and 24. Caglianone, whom Royals fans are advocating for on social media to get more at-bats, is the third-worst hitter in RISP situations this year with a -21 wRC+. Only Marte (-57) and Tyler Tolbert have been worse, and Tolbert only has one PA in RISP situations.

On Tuesday, the Royals were 2-for-7 in RISP situations and left six runners on base. They also made crucial outs on the basepaths, with Thomas getting picked off while trying to steal third in the sixth and Garcia getting thrown out at second while trying to extend a single in the fifth. 

Thus, Tuesday's loss to the Red Sox only amplified the Royals' struggles with runners in scoring position, further deflating a Kauffman Stadium crowd of 14,047, especially on a chilly May evening. 

Inconsistency With the Pitching Staff

The Royals were in a tough spot on Tuesday, having to use a "bullpen" game after an elbow injury sidelined initial starter Kris Bubic. For eight innings of work, the Kansas City bullpen held its own, allowing three runs over that span.

Opener Bailey Falter struggled with command, walking three and allowing two runs on four hits in two innings of work. However, despite those issues, the TJ Stuff+ still looked encouraging, and he surprisingly did a good job of generating whiff (26.7%) and not letting the hard contact get too out of control either. That can be seen in his TJ Stuff+ summary below.

However, the main star pitcher for the Royals in this bullpen contest was Lunider Avila, who went three innings in the Royals' loss.

Avila threw 51 pitches and allowed no runs on one hit and one walk while striking out three. He generated a 60.8% strike rate and a TJ Stuff+ of 105. The Venezuelan-born pitcher looked in control and confident on the mound, which wasn't always the case when he initially made his 2026 debut. However, not only is Avila producing solid metrics (as seen below in his TJ Stuff+ summary), he's showing a profile of a dependable reliever in the Royals bullpen.

Lastly, John Schreiber had another solid outing, striking out two, allowing one hit, and walking no one in an inning of work. The veteran righty was pretty efficient against his old team, throwing a strike rate of 72.2% on just 18 pitches. Schreiber generated a lot of chase (50%) and whiff (30%), which helped him keep the Red Sox hitters at bay.

Unfortunately, while the Royals' bullpen showed some flashes of positives, it all came crashing down in one inning. That trend has also been far too common for Kansas City this year, especially with a bullpen that ranks 19th in ERA, 26th in WHIP, and 28th in BB/9. 

This struggling reliever happened to be Eli Morgan, who was just recently promoted from Triple-A after Kris Bubic was added to the 15-Day IL.

Morgan threw 26 pitches in an inning of work and was tagged for four runs on seven hits. The biggest hit came from Jarren Duran, the Red Sox leadoff hitter, who hit a three-run home run with two outs that essentially put the game away for Boston. 

Again, one bad pitch, this time from Morgan, leads to a brutal inning that puts a game out of reach. It's been a far too common trend with not just this bullpen but the pitching staff in general, which explains why the Royals are 20-29 after another home loss to the Red Sox.

The Royals rank 20th in team ERA, 25th in xERA, and 27th in BB%, according to Fangraphs. While the Royals' offense is not scoring enough runs in clutch situations, the Royals' pitching staff is bleeding runs slowly, but surely. Pitching was once an area of strength for the Royals under Quatraro. According to Fangraphs, they ranked 4th in ERA and 6th in FIP from 2024 to 2025. While their xERA ranked 17th, the rest of the metrics were good enough to help the Royals win 86 and 82 games in 2024 and 2025, respectively.

Unfortunately for the Royals, that kind of pitching consistency isn't happening from the pitching staff this year, both from the rotation and the bullpen. On Tuesday, Royals fans saw that firsthand, as some promising outings in the beginning led the way to a brutal performance from Morgan that caused Royals fans to leave the stadium in droves before the Red Sox finished batting in the ninth.

Are Fans Fed Up With This Club?

It wasn't a pretty crowd at the K on Tuesday, May 19th. Some fans booed Quatraro in the pregame introductions. Fans booed loudly after the Royals left runners on base at second and third with one out. The fans booed after Duran's big three-run home run. Lastly, the fans booed after the Royals went quietly in the ninth by striking out three times.

That included a backward K by Caglianone, who had three backward Ks in four at-bats on Tuesday. Fans questioned why Quatraro wasn't playing Caglianone against lefties. Well, Tuesday was a prime example of why, especially when one looks at his ball/strike zone chart from the game.

Safe to say, Caglianone was completely overwhelmed by the Red Sox's left-handed pitchers on Tuesday. 

There's still a lot of baseball left in the season, but the vibes aren't good with this team and fanbase. On social media, 90+% of the content is negative. It's nothing but widespread fan vitriol of this team. Many blame Quatraro. Some blame Alec Zumwalt (still). Some are beginning to blame JJ Picollo. Lastly, the players are getting heat, especially Vinnie and Salvy, who have been long-time fan favorites among this loyal fanbase.

Losing brings out the worst in fans, and tonight was no exception. There was a tense energy at Kauffman Stadium that seemed to affect everyone, players included. They didn't look as locked in or as sharp as previous games, and the blunders on the basepaths and lack of hitting seemed to confirm that the Royals players were being affected by the "negative" energy in the ballpark.

That said, one cannot blame Royals fans. They are feeling the hole that the Royals are digging themselves into, and with each loss, their postseason hopes dim a little bit more.

According to Fangraphs, the Royals' chances of making the postseason sit at 18.6%, and their chances of winning the division sit at 9.3%. Only the White Sox, who have a significantly better record than the Royals at 24-23, have worse odds in the division (12.1% to make postseason; 6.2% to win the division). However, if the White Sox continue winning, it's only a matter of time before the South Siders are ahead of Kansas City in those categories.

That's a shame, especially considering the positive hype with this team after the World Baseball Classic. This was supposed to be the season that the young Royals stepped up and made a name for themselves in the division.

Instead, the Royals need a significant spark, both on the pitching and hitting ends, to turn this season around. 

That spark certainly didn't happen on Tuesday, and fans exiting Kauffman Stadium, including myself, are wondering if that spark will come anytime soon or at all in 2026. 

Thankfully, there are still 113 games to go this season.