How the Royals played complementary baseball in home victory over the Mariners
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- Royals scored three first-inning runs against George Kirby to take an early lead.
- Stephen Kolek threw a complete-game shutout, allowing four hits and earning his third win.
- The Royals snapped a four-game skid and won the first game of their nine-game homestand.
After being knocked around in Friday’s series opener against the Seattle Mariners, the Kansas City Royals threw the first punch on Saturday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.
And they kept swinging.
In the first inning, the Royals scored three runs against Mariners right-handed starter George Kirby. Maikel Garcia lead off the game with a double, and Bobby Witt Jr. continued with a single.
“Maikel set the tone,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “I mean, that ball was smoked to the gap. And then, you know, the next four balls were tapped in the infield.”
Then, Vinnie Pasquantino got aboard on a fielder’s choice as Mariners second baseman Cole Young had trouble corralling the baseball.
Garcia scored on the play to give the Royals an early lead. Two batters later, Carter Jensen added an RBI groundout before Jac Caglianone laced an RBI single — his 11th RBI of the season.
Just like that, the Royals had a three-run advantage. And thanks to the work of starting pitcher Stephen Kolek the lead held up: KC cruised to a 5-0 shutout victory over the Mariners.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak. It also secured the first victory on their nine-game homestand.
And while the Royals didn’t have multiple scoring opportunities, they cashed when the moment presented itself on Saturday afternoon.
The offense kept the line moving with timely hits. In the third inning, Jensen didn’t do too much as he hit a 257-foot sand wedge to left field. The short flare was enough to score Witt from third base as Witt got home just before the incoming throw.
“That’s who we are,” Witt said. “We’re just going to keep attacking and trying to get that extra 90 (feet).”
It was the offensive execution that stood out. Many times this season, the Royals have failed to produce with runners in scoring position (RISP). The club entered hitting .226 in those situations.
That wasn’t the case on Saturday. The Royals were 3 for 10 with RISP, and it produced multiple runs. The offense kept adding — as evident by Isaac Collins’ RBI single in the sixth inning that extended the lead.
Collins hit a 96.3 mph sinker that was left over the middle of the plate. The baseball traveled right back through the box and Jensen scored from second base.
The easy swings paid off all afternoon. Kirby took the loss after allowing five runs (three earned) in six innings pitched.
“We wore him down a little bit and kept adding on,” Quatraro said of the Royals’ work against Kirby. “Carter got the ball in play in the first, he got the sac fly in the third, you know, the tack-on runs there were big. But, the baserunning was good. You know, good jump from Jac (Caglianone) after his big RBI. So yeah, there were a lot of good things. Contact, speed, you know, pressuring him early.”
The Royals showed patience and took what was given to them. It was the hallmark of their 2024 playoff run and the mindset that Quatraro has instilled in the clubhouse.
“We come here to win, so we accomplished that today, right,” Quatraro said. “So that doesn’t change what happened in the past. But, this can start something going forward. And that’s are job now, to make this carry over to tomorrow.”
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On Saturday, the Royals played up to their capabilities. The offense fueled the pitching, and it led to an important victory.
Royals starter Kolek earned his third win of the season. He threw a complete-game shutout while limiting the Mariners to four hits.
“It was a good game, fun crowd,” Witt said. “Kolek did his thing and we scored early. So it was a great win.”
And Kolek did it efficiently. He recorded 10 groundouts while getting some defensive help across the diamond.
The Royals recorded two double plays behind Kolek. Meanwhile, Pasquantino made a nifty defensive grab to rob Mariners shortstop J.P. Crawford in the third inning.
In the fifth inning, Jensen also rectified a mistake. He misplayed a wild pitch but recovered quickly to nab Young attempting to advance to third base. The defensive putout helped Kolek escape a potential jam.
“I’d like to be able to keep the ball in front of me,” Jensen said. “But, you know, it’s a tough one, and you know, it happens. I’m just glad I was able to get him out.”
The play halted the Mariners’ momentum. And the Royals didn’t look back as Kolek put the finishing touches on his masterful start.
“I just try to take it one pitch at a time, like I always say,” Kolek said. “And I thought I did a great job of that today, just staying in each moment. Not trying to get too far ahead of myself, just execute one pitch at a time. And ultimately, it helps me get through the game like today. It helped me get nine (innings).”
The three-game series is tied heading into Sunday’s series finale:
What’s next: Royals All-Star pitcher Seth Lugo (1-4, 3.68 ERA) will start opposite Mariners right-hander Bryan Woo (4-2, 3.51 ERA) in Sunday’s series finale. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. Central Time.
This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 5:27 PM.
