The 2026 season was a frustrating one for the Royals, who fell short of the playoffs after back-to-back winning seasons. But there were still some games that gave fans a thrill, from dramatic late-inning rallies to dominant pitching performances and walk-off wins.
Here are the best Royals games of the year, the ones that made all the ups and downs worthwhile.
April 26 – Royals come back against the Angels
The Royals and Angels were on national TV in late April, a decision that Peacock probably regretted. But they did get a great Royals comeback.
The Angels jumped out to a 6-0 lead, and the way the Royals had begun the year, it seemed like an insurmountable lead. But they chipped away, helped by a 427-foot Bobby Witt Jr. home run. The game was interrupted by a rain delay of nearly two hours, and the Royals came ready to play when the game resumed.
The Royals trailed 8-5 in the bottom of the ninth, when Vinnie Pasquantino tripled. Salvy singled him home, and Jac Caglianone crushed a two-run home run off lefty Drew Pomeranz to tie the game. The Angels regained the lead in the top of the tenth, but the Royals had one more rally in them. After Nick Loftin moved automatic runner Carter Jensen to third, Maikel Garcia drew a two-out walk to bring up Lane Thomas. On a 3-1 pitch, Thomas launched a walk-off three-run homer to left-center field, completing the improbable 11-9 victory.
The win gave Kansas City its first sweep of the season.
Box score: Royals 11 Angels 9
Royals Review recap: Thomas walks it off in marathon game 11-9, Royals sweep Angels
July 6 – Phlurry of runs against the Phillies
Sometimes it is fun to have an old fashioned beatdown. The Royals took out the season frustrations against the Phillies on July 6. The Phillies got on the board first against Noah Cameron, but that one run would be all they would get. The Royals put up six in the first off Cristopher Sánchez, capped by a three-run home run by third-string catcher Luke Maile. Salvador Perez, Lane Thomas, and Tyler Tolbert would all go yard, and Tolbert would have a career day going 5-for-5.
The Royals would score in every inning and put up a season-high 22 hits. Even crazier, they would outdo that run total the night against the Mets, defeating them 16-12.
Royals Review Recap: Royals unleash barrage of hits in series-clinching win over Phillies
Box score: Royals 15 Phillies 1
July 17 – Royals walk it off against the Padres
The 2026 season was a terrific first season for Carter Jensen, and in July the rookie collected his first walk-off hit. Facing the Padres, Seth Lugo was strong over six innings, allowing just two runs, one earned. Lane Thomas hit an early solo home run, and the Royals tied it 2-2 in the bottom of the sixth on a Xander Bogaerts error at short. Michael Massey gave the Royals a lead in the eighth with an RBI single, and the Royals were one out away from winning, when Alex Lange gave up a game-tying home run to Royals-killer Ty France.
Then came the tenth inning shenanigans. Lucas Erceg gave up three runs to the Padres, which seemed to put the game out of reach. The Royals had gone 1-fo-15 with runners in scoring position throughout the game, and putting up several runs seemed insurmountable. But Salvador Perez and Michael Massey delivered hits, Nick Loftin reached on a bunt that the pitcher mishandled, and Isaac Collins drove in a run to bring the Royals within one. That set the stage for Jensen, who hit laced one the other way into left, scoring Loftin from second for a 7-6 walk-off win.
Box score: Royals 7 Padres 6
Royals Review recap: Royals walk off game after wild tenth inning
July 29 – Randy Dobnak shuts out his old Twins team
Redemption was spelled D-O-B-N-A-K this year for the Royals. Dobnak had not started a Major League game since 2021, but the Royals put him in their rotation in July out of desperation. He was keeping teams off the scoreboard, tossing five shutout innings in his start before facing his old team, the Minnesota Twins. Dobnak kept Twins hitters off balance all night, spinning seven shutout innings, allowing just one walk and four hits.
Tyler Tolbert homered, but even more improbable was a triple hit by Salvador Perez, his first triple since 2022. The four runs were more than enough Dobnak, and Daniel Lynch IV and Steven Cruz (another former Twin!) were able to seal the win.
Royals Review recap: Randy Dobnak spins a gem and the Royals win in Minnesota
Box score: Royals 4 Twins 0
August 8 – Caglianone crushes the Cubs
Jac Caglianone caught fire in August, and a game against the Cubs would be his coming out party. Facing newly acquired Cubs starter Clay Holmes, Caglianone blasted a first inning pitch that nearly landed in the drink. In the third, he laced a drive down the right field line for a run-scoring double. In the fifth, he waited on a change up from Colin Rea and smacked it off the left field fence for another double. And to cap the night, he obliterated a ball over the right-center field fence for his second home run of the day.
Caglianone went 4-for-4, becoming just the seventh player in club history with four extra-base hits in a game. He would eventually earn American League August Player of the Month honors.
Royals Review recap: Jac Caglianone powers Royals to a victory
Box score: Royals 6 Cubs 3
August 18 – Royals walk-off A’s during win streak
The Royals caught fire in August with a season-high nine-game winning streak once regulars like Vinnie Pasquantino and Maikel Garcia returned to the lineup. One of the early victories in that stretch was an August comeback win over the A’s. Daniel Lynch IV had one of the best starts, allowing one run over four innings. But the Royals trailed 3-o after six frames. Pasquantino’s RBI double put the Royals on the board in the seventh, but it was still a two-run deficit in the bottom of the ninth.
The Royals loaded the bases with one out against Logan Harris on a catcher’s interference, a Michael Massey single, and a walk. Tyler Tolbert chopped a single in the hole to score two and tie the game. That set up the hero, Bobby Witt Jr., who singled to win the game.
Royals Review recap: Royals stage another comeback to take the series from the Athletics
Box score: Royals 4 Atheltics 3
