The Kansas City Royals crushed four home runs and took advantage of some excellent batted ball luck to bury the Chicago Cubs 12-4 in Wrigley Field. It was a particularly delightful game, especially in light of the team’s struggles with runners in scoring position and bad luck.
Jac Caglianone struck first. In the top of the second inning, Cags hit a beautiful opposite-field line drive off Ben Brown that sailed over the ivy for a solo shot. Along the way, a Cubs fan tumbled over the seats into the basket-like
fencing that separated the outfield from the stands. Hope it was worth it, dude!
Jac to the basket!
— Kansas City Royals (@royals.com) 2025-07-22T00:24:22.525Z
CUBS.
— OBVIOUS SHIRTS. (@obviousshirts.bsky.social) 2025-07-22T01:02:29.127Z
Unfortunately for the Royals in the moment, the Cubs returned fire in a big way in the bottom of the frame. Carson Kelly led off with a home run to left field to tie the game. A Dansby Swanson single, Justin Turner double, and a Matt Shaw homer run—on hard hit balls off the pitches of Royals starter Noah Cameron—gave the Cubs a 4-1 lead.
For much of this year, that would have represented an insurmountable lead. Not so tonight. In the fourth inning, the Royals clawed back within one run. Maikel Garcia poked a single to right field and red-hot Salvador Perez crushed a home run to center field.
Stay , Captain!
— Kansas City Royals (@royals.com) 2025-07-22T01:02:18.556Z
Fortunately, Cameron showed some guts, and that four-run second inning would be the only runs he (or any other Royals pitcher) would allow. Cameron finished with six innings pitched, no free passes allowed, and seven strikeouts.
The Royals took the lead in the top of the fifth inning during a sequence that was delightful for Kansas City fans and probably drove Chicago fans nuts. Nick Loftin started the shenanigans with an infield single. After John Rave hit into a fielder’s choice, Kyle Isbel singled on a ground ball which bounced in front of the plate so high that it went over third base. Jonathan India then muscled an inside pitch to left field, hustling for a double and driving in Rave to tie the game at four.
Creating a little chaos.
— Kansas City Royals (@royals.com) 2025-07-22T01:35:04.403Z
Bobby Witt Jr. came to bat and drove in Isbel—not with a thunderous home run or a clean line drive, but with...an infield single that boinked off Brown’s glove. That gave the Royals a 5-4 lead.
To cap off this nonsense, Witt stole second base, as India was at third base. Kelly’s throw to second was way off, and India scored while Witt moved to third base. Witt then scored on a Brown wild pitch, and by the time all was said and done there the Royals led 7-4.
It turned out that was all the Royals needed; John Schreiber and Andrew Hoffman pitched three scoreless innings (although Hoffman walked two and gave up another two hits, following up his less than stellar outing against the Marlins).
But the Royals were not done. In the seventh inning, John Rave hit his third home run of the year, a no-doubt solo shot to right field. It was certainly a sweet moment for Rave, a longtime Illinois resident who went to high school and college there and grew up a Cubs fan.
Moreover, the Captain was not done. In the Eighth inning, Garcia doubled and Salvy hit his second home run of the game and the fourth homer in his last three games.
Scalding hot!
— Kansas City Royals (@royals.com) 2025-07-22T02:19:52.977Z
A Caglianone walk and consecutive singles by Loftin, Rave, and Isbel led to two additional runs to give the Royals the final 12-4 score.
Though the Royals have only split their games after the break, they have been competitive and feisty in a way they rarely were through June and have been in the thick of it each time. At 49-52, the team is 4.5 games out of a Wild Card spot. Their struggles remain, but if Rave can be a serviceable outfielder and Caglianone can start walking more, maybe their fortunes can turn around. Who knows. For now, though, it was a fun game.
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