The Royals were headed for an impressive win. Here’s how it went so bad so fast
The Kansas City Royals were six outs away from slamming the door on the New York Mets in Friday’s series opener at Kauffman Stadium.
Instead, Royals reliever Steven Cruz left the door ajar. And the Mets made the KC bullpen pay in an 8-3 win.
In the eighth inning, Cruz didn’t have his usual command. He issued a single and two walks to Mets stars Brandon Nimmo, Francisco Lindor and Juan Soto. The Mets loaded the bases with no outs as a result.
KC held a 3-1 lead after All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. hit a two-run homer to cap a pivotal seventh frame. Now, the Royals were in danger of giving the lead back in short order.
“I’m always being ready for the fastball,” Witt said of his homer. “So if I get it, I’m ready to hit it.”
Royals manager Matt Quatraro had a few options with his bullpen returning following an off day Thursday. He opted to stick with Cruz, who got two outs in the seventh, instead of turning to fireman reliever Lucas Erceg with a clean inning.
“I mean, we would definitely want to go to him there,” Quatraro said of Erceg postgame. “He came off the off day and his back was a little tight and we needed to stay away from him today.”
When things got hairy, Quatraro went with All-Star closer Carlos Estévez to attempt to clean up the eighth inning.
The strategy did not work.
Estévez allowed a three-run double to Mets designated hitter Mark Vientos as he cleared the bases. New York took a one-run lead before Lindor and Soto provided valuable insurance with consecutive homers in the ninth.
“We were trying to not have him go two innings,” Quatraro said. “We’re in a really rough spot in their order. And, you know, we have a lot of faith in (Cruz). Just those two walks are what killed us.”
The Royals (46-49) failed to respond as they snapped their four-game winning streak.
Free passes doom Royals
It was a tough night for the KC pitching staff. The club surrendered eight walks against the Mets and each one proved costly.
In the third inning, Royals starter Michael Wacha walked home the first run of the game. He got behind Mets first baseman Pete Alonso, who drew a bases-loaded walk.
“It was a little bit of a grinder out there for sure,” Wacha said. “Just loose command at times. Made some competitive pitches and not getting some action on it that I was trying to get. I was able to limit damage there in that one inning and felt like I got in a little groove there that last couple.”
Wacha allowed one run in five innings. However, he surrendered three walks on 83 pitches while receiving zero run support.
“It’s a tough lineup,” Wacha said. “They have a really good club over there. So yeah, you’ve got to be on every pitch for sure.”
The walks were compounded by Cruz’s two pivotal ones in the eighth inning. And Royals reliever Taylor Clarke issued a walk to Nimmo in the ninth that preceded Lindor’s three-run homer to center field.
“We are going to take our chances with a 3-1 lead going into the eighth inning every day of the week,” Quatraro said.
Royals baffled by unique forkball
It’s not every day an MLB team sees a dynamic forkball. However, the Royals got a steady dose of Mets starter Kodai Senga’s special pitch on Friday night.
Senga threw the forkball on 18 of his 67 pitches. He registered 11 swings and five whiffs as the pitch darted away from the Royals hitters.
The pitch features a V-shape grip horizontal across the two seams. The V-shape is created between the pointer and middle fingers on the baseball. It creates a downward motion that looks like a fastball to the hitter.
And then it disappears throughout the strike zone.
“His forkball is really tough and it dives,” Quatraro said. “I’m sure it looks exactly like a fastball for a long time. So those are effective pitches when you get them down in the zone.”
What’s next: The Royals continue their three-game series against the Mets at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday. Right-hander Michael Lorenzen (5-8, 4.61 ERA) will oppose Frankie Montas (1-1, 6.14 ERA) at 3:10 p.m. Central.
This story was originally published July 11, 2025 at 11:34 PM.
