Week in Review: Royals Bounce Back Against Mariners After Rough Start to Homestand

Week in a Nutshell 

After a 1-8 road trip in the previous week, the Royals got off to a slow start in this week's homestand.

At the beginning of the week, Kansas City was swept by the Boston Red Sox, who sit in last place in the AL East (and ironically, got swept by the Minnesota Twins at Fenway Park over the weekend). It was a deflating series that seemed to fuel the frustration of Royals fans already dissatisfied with this start to the 2026 season. 

Thankfully, things got better in the weekend series against the Seattle Mariners. Even though the Royals lost game one of the series, they won two and got three quality starts from their starting pitchers. By winning two in a row, Kansas City has built some much-needed momentum for their final series in the homestand against the hated New York Yankees. 

Record this Week: 2-4

Run Differential for the Week: -4

Record for the Year: 22-31

Run Differential for the Year: -25

Standing: 4th in the AL Central

Game 48: BOS 3, KC 1

• Seth Lugo produced another quality start, as he went six innings and allowed two runs on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts. However, a two-run home run by Willson Contreras was just enough, as Red Sox starter Sonny Gray allowed only one run and struck out nine in six innings of work.

Game 49: BOS 7, KC 1 

• Bailey Falter opened a bullpen game for the Royals and gave up two runs on four hits and three walks in two innings of work (he did strike out two). Luinder Avila held the Red Sox in check over three innings, as he allowed no runs, only one hit, and one walk while striking out three. Unfortunately, the Royals' offense could not muster anything, going 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Eli Morgan struggled in his outing, highlighted by a three-run home run allowed to Jarren Duran in the top of the 9th that effectively put the game away. 

Game 50: BOS 4, KC 3

• Home runs by Salvador Perez and Elias Diaz gave the Royals three runs, and they held a lead going into the seventh, thanks to a quality start from Michael Wacha (6 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K). However, Steven Cruz gave up a two-run home run to Duran to lose the lead, and the Royals were unable to come back, giving the Red Sox the sweep. 

Game 51: SEA 2, KC 0

• The Royals got another quality start, this time from Noah Cameron, who went six innings and allowed no runs, four hits, and two walks while striking out eight. However, a two-run homer by Mitch Garver off Royals reliever Nick Mears proved to be the difference, as Kansas City only collected four hits and was 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. 

Game 52: KC 5, SEA 0

• Kansas City snapped its four-game losing streak, thanks to a gem from Stephen Kolek. He pitched a complete-game shutout, the first Royals pitcher to do so since Brad Keller in 2020 (Kolek was also the first Royals pitcher to throw a shutout in front of fans since Glenn Sparkman in 2019). The Royals collected nine hits and were 3-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Michael Massey and Bobby Witt Jr. had multi-hit performances. 

Game 53: KC 8, SEA 6

• For the first time this season, the Royals won a rubber game in a series, beating the Mariners on Sunday to clinch the series. The Kansas City offense came through in big spots, going 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position and collecting 11 hits total in the game. Salvador Perez was the main standout, as he had three hits and three RBI in the Royals' two-run win. Lugo had another quality start (6.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K), and John Schreiber and Daniel Lynch IV held things down in the seventh and eighth. Lucas Erceg, who hadn't pitched in a week, struggled in his outing, giving up three runs on four hits in a non-save situation in the ninth.

News and Notes

The Royals made a couple of moves, including ones at the Major and Minor League levels.

At the Major League level, Kansas City recalled Tyler Tolbert, who was optioned to Omaha earlier in the season after making the Opening Day roster. The utility player gives the Royals some speed off the bench and defensive versatility. Tolbert hit .260 with a .365 OBP in 73 plate appearances with the Storm Chasers and also had eight stolen bases on eight attempts. 

As a result, Diaz was designated for assignment. The 35-year-old catcher was called up to give Salvy a rest, as he was dealing with hip problems that were preventing him from playing behind the plate. However, Perez has been getting starts recently, thus making Diaz superfluous on the Royals' active roster. Diaz hit .227 with two home runs in 22 plate appearances with the Royals.

In terms of Minor League moves, the Royals signed relievers Luke Jackson and Genesis Cabrera to Minor League deals. Jackson and Cabrera are both Major League veterans who were recently released by their respective clubs (the Mets and Phillies, respectively). The pair may just be Triple-A depth for now, but if the Royals' bullpen is dramatically affected by injury, Jackson and Cabrera are two relievers who can be recalled and give the pitching staff professional innings. 

Highlights

The rotation actually had a pretty solid week, even though the Royals lost four of six games. The Royals' starting pitching staff produced five quality starts this week, with two from Lugo and Wacha, and Cameron and Kolek each having one as well. Over the past seven days, the Royals' pitching staff produced a 3.50 ERA, which ranked 13th in baseball, according to MLB.com.

Lugo was the only starter who went two starts this week, and he produced a 3.65 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 12.1 IP this week. While he didn't produce a lot of strikeouts, he was competitive and efficient in both outings, including on Sunday, as he earned the win over the Mariners. It was a classic effort from Lugo, as he didn't generate a ton of whiff or chase, and his xwOBACON was higher than one would like. However, he flooded the strike zone and kept Mariners hitters off-balance with his vast pitch arsenal. 

Though he had only one start this week, Kolek was the Royals' pitching MVP with the complete game shutout. The 29-year-old starter has been nails with the Royals since joining the club at the Trade Deadline last year. In four starts, he has a 2.77 ERA in 26 IP. Kolek was masterful in terms of efficiency and limiting hard contact against the Mariners on Saturday. That helped him earn the first Royals shutout in six years, even though he only generated two strikeouts and not a lot of whiffs. 

In terms of the bullpen, John Schreiber had the most impressive week for Kansas City. In three outings and innings of work this week, he allowed no runs, three hits, no walks, and struck out five. After struggling with his stuff earlier in the season, he's been locked in recently, generating a ton of chase and whiff over the past week, as seen below via his TJ Stuff+ summary. 

The only issue with Schreiber was that his zone rate was a bit inconsistent, and hitters made loud contact against him. His strikeouts remain low this year, as he only has 11 in 19.1 IP. However, his TJ Stuff+ was 100 this week, and that better stuff correlated with a 32% whiff and 41.7% K% in his three outings. Schreiber produced a hold in Sunday's outing against Seattle. 

The hitting had an off week, even though they were back home, where they have traditionally mashed this year. The Royals produced a .588 OPS this week, which ranked 26th in baseball. They primarily struggled with the long ball, as they had only two home runs this year, ranking 29th. Only the Colorado Rockies hit fewer this week (they had one). 

In terms of individual performances, Salvy stood out the most with six hits, which was the second-most of any Royals hitter this week. The Royals captain slashed .286/.375/.429 with an .804 OPS in 21 at-bats. His line this week also included a home run, four RBI, two runs scored, and two walks to only one strikeout. 

Another Royals hitter that had an encouraging week was Michael Massey, who's been the regular second baseman against right-handed starting pitchers with Jonathan India out for the remainder of the year. In 13 at-bats, Massey had four hits and slashed .308/.357/.385 with a .742 OPS. He also had one walk, two strikeouts, and scored a run.

Lowlights

The lineup had a week to forget, struggling to get on base and produce much against the Red Sox and in the first game against the Mariners.

In six games, the lineup generated a .275 OBP, which ranked 26th in baseball this week. They also only drew 13 walks, which was tied for the worst mark in baseball this week. That said, the Royals were facing a Mariners starting pitching staff this weekend that has the lowest BB/9 in baseball. Hence, kudos to Kansas City for being aggressive and swinging rather than passive. 

Many Royals hitters had weird lines this week, and not necessarily in a good way.

Garcia led the Royals in hits with seven in 26 plate appearances, good for an average of .269. He also had a key two-out, two-RBI single in the 8th that eventually was the difference in the Royals' win on Sunday.

However, Garcia didn't draw a walk, only had one extra-base hit, and posted an OPS of .577 this week. He's in the midst of a difficult May, as he is hitting .250 with a .615 OPS in 100 plate appearances. His slugging is 140 points down from April, and he hasn't hit a single home run this month after hitting three in April. His launch angle sweet-spot percentage has been steadily declining since May 12th, as evidenced by his rolling sweet-spot% chart in Savant.

Another key hitter who struggled this week was Witt. The Royals franchise star hit .240 with a .560 OPS in 25 plate appearances. While he hit two doubles, he also struck out six times and didn't draw a single walk. It seemed like Witt was pressing at the plate, trying too hard to create offense, and it often had a counterintuitive effect this week.

The Royals also got subpar performances from the bottom of their lineup this week. That included Isaac Collins (.498 OPS) and Kyle Isbel (.331 OPS). Vinnie Pasquantino and Carter Jensen also struggled, with .508 and .576 OPS marks this week. That said, while none of the four had great weeks overall, all four had some key moments on Saturday and Sunday in the Royals' two wins against Seattle. 

In terms of pitching, Erceg had a brutal outing in his lone appearance this week.

While he was gifted a large lead on Sunday, he nearly blew it, giving up three runs on four hits. The Mariners had the game-winning run at the plate with two outs. Thankfully, Erceg was able to get Luke Raley to ground out to end the game (though manager Dan Wilson had the gall to challenge the play, even though he was clearly out). While it was only one outing, the Royals need a focused, locked-in Erceg going forward, especially with Carlos Estevez unlikely to return in a meaningful way this season.

Erceg looked rusty on Sunday after not pitching for a week. His TJ Stuff+ summary seemed to illustrate that as well, especially for his four-seamer and sinker, which had subpar TJ Stuff+ marks.

Erceg's sinker had a 92 TJ Stuff+, his four-seamer had a 94 TJ Stuff+, and he had an overall TJ Stuff+ of 96. That correlated with a poor whiff% (16.7%) and xwOBACON (.421). Hopefully, if he sees action in the Yankees, his four-seamer and sinker TJ Stuff+ metrics will bounce back.

Another pitcher who had a rough week was Steven Cruz, who posted a 10.80 ERA and 1.80 WHIP in two outings and 1.2 IP. The stuff isn't a question for Cruz, but the command is. That was illustrated in the two-run home run he gave up to Duran in the series finale against Boston. 

With his stuff, it would be nice for Cruz to see more high-leverage spots, especially with Estevez on the shelf. Despite elite TJ Stuff+ numbers, his lackluster zone, chase, and xwOBACON metrics make him a difficult option to use in key spots. 

Unfortunately, it looks like Cruz may be closer to another Carlos Hernandez (who failed to stick in Kansas City despite eye-popping stuff) than to another Estevez. 

Looking Ahead

The Royals finish a nine-game homestand this week with a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium against the Yankees. Kansas City hasn't won a game against the Bronx Bombers since game two of the 2024 ALDS. They lost all six games to them last year and were swept in the Bronx in mid-April. Kansas City is hoping it can end this losing streak, even with all the bandwagon Yankees fans from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa descending on Kauffman Stadium starting on Memorial Day.

The Yankees won't be an easy challenge, especially since they are 31-22 and have a +67 run differential. That said, they are 4-6 in their last 10 games and easily could have been 3-7 if not for a walkoff two-run home run by Aaron Judge on Sunday afternoon against first-place Tampa Bay. 

In addition to facing sluggers like Judge, the Royals will face a tough trio of Yankees pitchers at the K this week. Will Warren, Cam Schlitter, and Gerrit Cole are expected to toe the rubber for the Yankees in this series. Warren and Schlitter dominated the Royals back in the Bronx, and Cole has a good history against Kansas City as well.

After the Yankees series, the Royals hit the road for Arlington for a three-game series against the Texas Rangers. Like the Yankees, Texas is 4-6 in its last 10, but they sit 24-28 for the year and has lost three in a row. On a positive note, they have a +6 run differential and have some formidable bats in the lineup, such as Brandon Nimmo, Josh Jung, and Ezequiel Duran, who all have fWAR marks over one. (Corey Seager and Wyatt Langford are currently on the IL and both are unlikely to return next week.)

The Rangers' rotation is solid, ranking 15th in the starter ERA, 10th in WHIP, and 2nd in K/9. As of now, MacKenzie Gore (4.78 ERA), Kumar Rocker (3.60 ERA), and Jack Leiter (4.61 ERA) are projected to pitch against the Royals next weekend, according to Roster Resource. Texas also had a formidable bullpen that ranks 3rd in reliever ERA and 7th in WHIP. Closer Jacob Latz and setup men Jakob Junis (a former Royal) and Tyler Alexander all have ERA marks under two.