The Royals fell short of their goals this year, but they did win more games than they lost! Let’s look back at the most memorable victories of the year.
May 6 – White Sox blow the game in a comically epic
manner
The White Sox were hilariously bad last year, and while they weren’t as bad this year, they still managed to lose to the Royals in hilarious fashion in an early May game. The White Sox carried a 3-1 lead going into the bottom of the eighth inning. White Sox outfielder Brooks Baldwin badly misplayed a flyball to allow a run-scoring double to cut the lead to one. But that would preview the comedy of errors in the ninth.
In the final frame, Mark Canha led off with a walk, and Drew Waters hit what should have been a routine infield pop fly. But this happened.
Doink! The ball hit off the dome of Chase Meidroth.
Freddy Fermin reached on a beautiful bunt single to load the bases, and after an out, Jonathan India hit what should have been a game-ending double play. But the White Sox messed that up, with the toss to second pulling the fielder off the bag, leaving everyone safe and tying the game. That brought Bobby Witt Jr. up, and he sent everyone home with a single to center for a walk-off win. You couldn’t script a more White Sox way to lose.
Box score: Royals 4 White Sox 3
Royals Review recap: Royals walk off win as White Sox blow the game in hilarious fashion
May 9 – Royals outlast pitcher’s duel with Red Sox with walk-off win
The Royals had trouble scoring runs, but their pitchers kept opponents off the board as well, and that was most evident in a May game against the Red Sox. Michael Lorenzen exchanged goose eggs with Red Sox rookie Hunter Dobbins. Lorenzen would be pulled after seven innings, making it three consecutive games a Royals starter had thrown seven shutout innings.
Each team turned things over to their bullpens, and home plate continued to go untouched. The Red Sox finally got on the board in the top of the eleventh on two groundouts to take the lead. But Vinnie Pasquantino tied the game in the bottom of the inning with an RBI single. In the twelfth, Cavan Biggio avoided getting hit in the face by a pitch to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Freddy Fermín showed why he’s such a dawg, by hitting a single to left to win the game. The Royals improved to 24-16, which would be the most games over .500 they would reach all season.
Royals Review recap: Freddy Fermín, Royals walk off 2-1 victory in 12th inning
July 21 – The Friendly Confines are friendly to Royals hitters
The Royals get to travel to Wrigley Field every other year, and they found the “Friendly Confines” to be friendly to their bats. They scored 20 runs in their two wins in Chicago (and were shut out in the loss – go figure). They got the offense off to a good start in the series opener, crushing four home runs, including a shot by Jac Caglianone that caused a fan to tumble into the basket to protect fans from the field.
Salvador Perez added two home runs, and Chicago-area native John Rave added a homer as well in the blowout win. Noah Cameron picked up his fourth win of the year, and the Royals were able to rest Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvy by the end of the game.
Royals Review recap: Royals repeatedly crush Cubs curveballs, vault to 12-4 victory
August 3 – Royals keep the line moving in extra innings in Toronto
It didn’t look like this would be a good win for the Royals early on. Seth Lugo wobbled early on and Royals batters couldn’t manage their first hit until the fifth inning. The Royals trailed 2-1 in the top of the eighth when Bobby Witt Jr. doubled to score Vinnie Pasquantino and tie the game.
Kyle Isbel punched a double in the tenth to score the extra-inning runner and put the Royals on top. But they weren’t content with just one run, and instead kept the line moving. Jonathan India was hit by a pitch. Bobby Witt Jr. walked. Tyler Tolbert singled. The Blue Jays threw the ball away to allow another run to score. By the time the inning was over, the Royals had padded a 7-2 lead.
Those extra runners were needed as Carlos Estévez gave up two runs in the bottom of the inning (he seemed to always pitch to the score this year!) But he managed to hold on for the 7-4 win to give the Royals a series win.
Box score: Royals 7 Blue Jays 4
Royals review recap: Royals take the series in Toronto with extra inning 7-4 win
August 26 – Royals overcome four-run deficit to White Sox
This was another game that seemed like it would go south for the good guys. White Sox left-hander Martin Pérez allowed just one Royals hit over the first seven innings, running their consecutive scoreless streak to 16 innings. Michael Lorenzen ran into trouble in the sixth, and John Schreiber added fuel to the fire to give up four runs. The Royals chipped away in the eighth with a two-run single by Maikel Garcia but still trailed 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth.
Vinnie Pasquantino, Mike Yastrzemski, and Jonathan India all singled to load the bases with one out. White Sox-killer Michael Massey singled to score two and tie the game. Adam Frazier was hit by a pitch, setting up an RBI single by Kyle Isbel to give the Royals the lead. Carlos Estévez pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his 35th save of the year.
Box score: Royals 5 White Sox 4
Royals Review recap: Royals overcome four-run deficit late, win 5-4 over White Sox
September 19 – Offense has a record night against the Blue Jays
Yes, the Royals were essentially out of the race when they faced the playoff-bound Blue Jays on September 19. But it was still fun to see them outscore the Chiefs and put up a crooked number on Toronto. It wasn’t like they beat up on some anonymous scrub either – it was future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer who gave up seven runs in the first, including home runs to Salvy and Michael Massey. The Royals made it a 10-1 blowout in the third, but it was when the Blue Jays put catcher Tyler Heineman on the mound that the game truly became a laugher. He retired just 4 of the 17 batters he faced and gave up 10 runs on 13 hits.
The Royals ended the game with 27 hits, a franchise record in one game. The 20 runs were the fourth-most by a Royals team in one game. They also became just the third team since 1900 to have ten different players enjoy a multi-hit game. The Royals had their offensive struggles at times, but they got out all their frustrations in one game.
Box score: Royals 20 Blue Jays 1
Royals Review recap: Royals unleash 27-hit barrage in 20-1 beatdown of Blue Jays
