Tolbert leads Royals’ offensive surge in series-opening win vs. the Mets
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Royals beat Mets 16-12 in series opener as KC extended winning streak to three games.
- Tyler Tolbert became the first Royal with a hit in 12 consecutive plate appearances.
- KC pounded out 19 hits with every starter recording at least one hit in the game.
If you love baseball anomalies, Citi Field was the place to be on Tuesday night.
The Kansas City Royals and New York Mets nearly completed every possible outcome in a Major League Baseball game.
There were home runs and stolen bases. One team committed three errors on a single play, and the other had an MLB debut.
“Baseball is magical,” Royals third baseman Nick Loftin said. “I mean, we’ve been seeing some unbelievable things the last couple of days.”
Meanwhile, Royals utility man Tyler Tolbert set a club record and tied a MLB record: He became the first Royal to have a hit in 12 consecutive plate appearances. The streak was snapped in the ninth inning Tuesday in a game in which he went 5-for-6 with a home run.
“I’m truly lost for words, honestly,” Tolbert said. “I mean, I couldn’t have done it without my teammates, my coaches and I kept saying God is good all the time. I don’t know, it hasn’t really hit me because, you know, every at-bat, I’m just trying to do a job. Execute the plan and whatever the plan and approach was and try to go off of that.
“It’s been fun. It’s been a journey of a ride. There was a lot of luck in some of those hits, but it was just fun honestly.”
And both teams scored a ton of runs. However, the Royals prevailed in a 16-12 victory as their winning streak reached three games.
KC has scored 36 runs during the three-game streak. After scoring 15 runs against the Philadelphia Phillies on Monday, the Royals offense continued to surge forward. On Tuesday, the club pounded out 19 hits as they took advantage of a struggling New York pitching staff.
Every Royal starter recorded a hit in the lineup. Eight players recorded an RBI, and six produced a double in the game.
Royals outfielder Lane Thomas finished 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs. Meanwhile, Nick Loftin and Tolbert each belted home runs.
Tolbert went 5-for-5 in Monday’s win against the Phillies. And with two straight hits in his previous game, his final hit Tuesday had him tied for a MLB record — held by Johnny Kling (1902) and Walt Dropo (1952) — for most hits in consecutive plate appearances at 12.
“It’s pretty remarkable,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Obviously, the speed never slumps. The home run was a huge swing for us just to get back in the game after the way they scored those three runs in the first. ... I just couldn’t be more proud of him, the way he competes.”
The Mets jumped out to a 9-4 lead as KC starter Seth Lugo struggled in his return to Citi Field.
Lugo allowed nine runs (six earned) in 4 1/3 innings. He was charged with one of three first-inning errors committed by the Royals. The mistakes led to a three-run frame. The Mets added four additional runs in the fourth.
“You know, I thought it was a little unfortunate out there,” Lugo said. “I thought I made a lot better pitches than the scoreboard would show.”
Juan Soto belted his 20th home run in the fourth for the Mets. It was a three-run blast off an 90.1 mph cutter that Lugo left elevated in the strike zone.
“I feel like, you know, I made one mistake out there, that was the three-run home run,” Lugo said. “Soto got me on a good pitch that he hasn’t historically hit. So just tip my hat there. But, glad we got a team win.”
New York hit two homers in the game. Mets leadoff hitter A.J. Ewing added a two-run homer of his own as he finished 4-for-4 on the night.
Lugo didn’t qualify for the win. He threw 59 of 94 pitches for strikes in his first career start against his former team.
The Mets (38-54) opted for a bullpen game. And the Royals were prepared to face multiple arms throughout the night.
KC was 9-for-23 with runners in scoring position (RISP). In the fifth, the Royals scored five runs before adding seven more in the seventh inning.
“I just think everybody is taking some team at-bats right now which is fun to watch,” Thomas said. “And you know, you string quality at-bat after quality at-bat, you put up good innings. And we’ve been doing that the last four or five days. So try to keep it going tomorrow.”
The Royals improved to 38-54. It was their sixth series-opening win in their last 11 series. Meanwhile, the Mets have lost four of their last six games.
What’s next: The Royals will start right-hander Steven Cruz on Wednesday night. New York will counter with right-hander Christian Scott (2-1, 3.49 ERA) with first pitch set for 6:10 p.m. Central Time.
This story was originally published July 7, 2026 at 10:02 PM.
