Today, the Royals face the Mariners in the decisive game of a crucial three-game series at Kauffman Stadium. The series is even, with the Mariners taking game one in a 12-5 blowout in which the Royals were once down 10-1. Despite the brutal loss in game one, the Royals managed to bounce back in game two thanks to Cole Ragans’ return to the mound and another standout performance from Carter Jensen. The Royals’ offense was not able to carry their success from last night into today’s game and lost the final
game of the series 2-0
The game really kicked off in the second inning, when the Mariners were able to open the inning with a single by Josh Naylor and then a double by Jorge Polonco to take a 1-0 lead early. Stephen Kolek was unfazed and stepped up by striking out Eugenio Suarez. Then, with one out and a runner on second, Dominic Canzone came to the plate and, similar to how the game ended last night, he hit a hard shot to Adam Frazier, who made a good play on the ball and made a double play to end the inning.
Following the top of the second, the Royals threatened to score after getting one out singles from Salvador Perez and Adam Frazier. Unfortunately, this was followed up by a flyout for Jac Caglianone and a strikeout by Carter Jensen. This marked the start of a cold streak for both offenses, as both teams were only able to put up one baserunner from the beginning of the third inning until the start of the eighth inning.
In the eighth, a bit of an odd situation gave the Mariners a base runner with one out in the eighth inning. After Dominic Canzone came to the plate and hit a ground ball to Michael Massey for what seemed to be a routine out, the Mariners challenged the call on the field. They argued that Michael Massey was illegally positioned on the outfield grass, and after winning that challenge, Massey was charged with an error, and Canzone was awarded first base. This cost the Royals after JP Crawford hit a two-out double off Daniel Lynch IV, scoring Victor Robles from first, who came in as a pinch runner for Canzone.
With that error, Stephen Kolek was knocked out of the game after another incredible start. After giving up the two back-to-back hits in the second inning, Kolek did not allow another hit the rest of his time on the mound. In fact, Kolek only allowed two more base runners in the game, with one being a walk to Josh Naylor and the other being the error by Michael Massey. Kolek finished with a stat line of 7.1 innings pitched, 1 earned run, and one walk vs eight strikeouts, which was a career high. This was Kolek’s fourth start with the Royals, and it was his fourth quality start as he continues to make a strong case to be in the 2026 rotation.
Unfortunately for the Royals, on the other hand, Luis Castillo also had a great start, going six innings and allowing only three hits. The Kansas City offense struggled yet again and did not manage to score a run despite threatening again in the ninth with runners on first and second. It is a story we have heard time and time again this year, where a dominant performance by a pitcher is overshadowed by offensive struggles.
There are nine games left in the regular season, and the Royals will take on the Blue Jays in Kansas City tomorrow at 6:40.
