[Biggp07]

👑 Friday, May 23 • Game 1 👑

Kansas City jumps out fast and never lets Oakland breathe.

Oakland Athletics at Kansas City Royals | Kaufmann Stadium
Weather: Clear skies (64 degrees) | Wind: blowing in from right at 10 mph | Attendance: 23,181 | First pitch: 6:40 PM CT
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Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

We made two moves that were equal parts performance and fit.

First: 3B/DH Davis Schneider got optioned. The bat had cooled, his wRC+ was well below league average at 76, and the defensive utility wasn't carrying its weight this week. In his place, we brought up Nick Loftin, who has earned the call with how cleanly he's handled the “utility” job in Omaha—moving between infield and outfield without (many) rough edges. He's going to give us a steady right-handed option, and I'm planning to let him rotate through DH with Pratto while also serving as the bench cover behind Garcia.

Second: we optioned Kyle Wright and brought Angel Zerpa back up. Wright hasn't settled into any bullpen role for us, and when you're carrying a reliever who can't reliably hold leverage, it turns the whole late-game plan into guesswork. He's on my “trade/waiver” list now, and that's not a dramatic note—just the reality of how we have to manage payroll and roster value as we inch toward the deadline.
Rotation-wise, I'm keeping Hunter Brown under the microscope through the rest of the month. If June shows the same pattern, I'm prepared to give that back-end spot to Brady Singer and re-evaluate Brown's role through June. Not a punishment—just a course correction if the results keep leaning the wrong way.

Underneath all of that, we did what I'd call a “quiet reset” of the org: released about ten minor leaguers, cleared space, and started pushing the right prospects upward. With the July 11 draft getting closer, the Rookie-to-Single-A bridge is the checkpoint. If a kid’s showing real potential, he needs to take it to the next level—not sit in a comfortable lane until the calendar forces our hand.

And yes—only 3 wins in our last 13 is the kind of trend that makes the stomach tighten. We're still right there in the division picture, but I don't like how the road has looked lately, and I don't like “hope” being the plan. Tonight was about reasserting identity: pressure early, clean defense, and a starter who keeps the game from turning into a bullpen math problem.
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Oakland Athletics Series Snapshot

Oakland came in playing .435 ball (20–26), fourth in the West, and on a three-game slide. Their offense has lived in the bottom half of the league—186 runs (13th AL) and a .228 average (15th)—but their starters have been respectable (3.87 ERA, 4th), while the bullpen has been the soft spot (5.14 ERA, 13th). The names that matter most in how they can disrupt you: Esteury Ruiz at the top, Mason Miller at the back, and enough competent bats in the middle (Crawford, Soderstrom, Bader) to punish mistakes if you get cute.

Projected matchups for the series, our arms listed first:

• LHP J. Montgomery (6–3, 4.47) vs LHP J. Paxton (0–2, 6.23)
• RHP Z. Eflin (4–1, 1.62) vs RHP M. Spence (1–0, 1.97)
• LHP C. Ragans (2–3, 2.79) vs RHP T. McKenzie (4–3, 3.90)

Series Matchup Board — Game 1

• LHP Jordan Montgomery vs LHP James Paxton

This had the feel of a “lefty chess” game on paper. In practice, it came down to whether Paxton could get through the order once without traffic. Our hitters had one instruction: don’t let him settle—make him work, then make him pay when he misses.
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Game Day Log — Royals vs. Athletics (Game 1)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st — We hit the gas and didn't tap the brakes (KC 6, OAK 0)
Montgomery navigated a leadoff walk and then watched our defense flip a crisp 6–4–3 double play behind him—exactly the kind of “quiet momentum” you feel from the top step. Then he punched out Christian Walker to end it.

Bottom half, Paxton didn't survive the inning. Garcia went down looking, and Waters drifted out, but then the floodgates opened: Witt singled (106+ EV), Loftin singled, and Witt took third on the exchange—first time this lineup has felt like it's hunting in a while. Then Salvador Perez did what Salvy does when the stadium starts humming: three-run homer to put us up 3–0. We kept piling on: Renfroe ripped a single, a wild pitch advanced him, Mann walked, Massey singled to load the pressure, and then Kyle Isbel smoked a bases-clearing double to make it 6–0. Six runs, six hits, and the dugout finally looked loose again.

2nd — Salvy again, and it turns into a blowtorch (KC 9, OAK 0)
Monty posted another clean inning—flyouts and a strikeout—and then we went right back to work. Witt singled, Loftin singled again, and Perez launched his second bomb of the night: a three-run homer off JP Sears (110 EV, 413 feet). That made it 9–0, and you could feel Oakland's posture change.

3rd — Oakland finally punches one back (KC 9, OAK 1)
Zack Gelof ran into one—solo homer—and it cut the “all zeros” feeling. We didn't answer in the bottom half, but the important part was that our at-bats stayed normal. No panic swings, no trying to hit a five-run homer with nobody on.

4th — A’s make noise, Monty absorbs it (KC 9, OAK 3)
Brosseau singled, Moncada singled, and then Harrison Bader hit a two-run homer to make it 9–3. That was the only moment the game flirted with turning into something annoying. Montgomery stayed steady, got the next outs, and kept the game from spiraling.

5th — A jam, then a breath (still KC 9, OAK 3)
Oakland loaded the bases on a walk, an error, and an infield hit. That's exactly where games get weird if you give them oxygen. Monty got a flyout to end it and walked off the mound with the lead intact. Those are the innings you remember when you're managing—because they don’t look loud in the box score, but they change the night.

6th — Monty finishes his night as the stabilizer
He went six total, and even with the couple of homers, he kept us in control: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K. That's “starter work” in a long season—keep your team's footing, give your bullpen structure, and let your offense breathe.

7th — Paulino bridges it clean
Paulino came in and did exactly what we needed: limited damage, got strikeouts when the inning threatened. He worked 1.2 scoreless with 2 Ks, and that's how you protect a lead without making it feel like a slow leak.

8th — We tack on like a good club is supposed to (KC 12, OAK 3)
This inning was our identity on display. Mann doubled to start it, Isbel beat out an infield hit, Garcia walked, and then chaos did the rest: a wild pitch scored Mann, Waters singled in another, and Witt singled to bring home Garcia. Three more runs without having to “invent” them. That's pressure baseball—keep the line moving, make them execute.

9th — One last blemish, then we close the book (Final: KC 12, OAK 4)
Brazoban gave up a solo shot to J.P. Crawford and then finished the inning. Not perfect, but clean enough with the cushion.
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Final

Royals 12, Athletics 4
Royals (16 H, 1 E) | Athletics (11 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Salvador Perez — 3-for-5, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 R.
If you're looking for the turning point, it was the first inning—Isbel's bases-clearing double and the way the lineup never let Paxton exhale.

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher              Dec            IP   H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
J. Montgomery       W (7-3)        6.0   7    3    3    2    4    2    98   4.48
A. Paulino                         1.2   3    0    0    0    2    0    38   3.27
H. Brazoban                        1.1   1    1    1    1    1    1    19   4.19

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Front Office Note / Takeaways

From the dugout: this was a needed reminder that our best version is fast and decisive. We didn't wait around for the “right inning.” We put Paxton under stress, cashed in immediately, and then kept adding. Salvy gave us the thunder, but I loved the connective tissue: Loftin stepping into the lineup and delivering two hits in his first start here, Witt setting the table with three hits, Isbel driving the baseball and turning speed into extra bases, and Mann quietly being part of multiple rallies.

The pitching note is straightforward: Montgomery gave us a sturdy six, even with two solo/big flies. The bases-loaded escape in the 5th was the “keep your composure” moment, and that matters when we’ve been living too close to the edge lately. Paulino's bridge work was clean. Brazoban's homer is a small bruise, not a wound.

From the front office side, Jason McLeod is back from the Dominican Republic with a name circled: SP Alberto Gomez. Big frame (6'2"), good changeup, average slider, projects to be around-average in strikeouts, but the control looks like the limiting factor. The early read is that he may end up better suited for relief at maturity, but we're keeping him on a close-watch track in the international complex. The goal is simple: don't lose time on arms like this—either you sharpen the control, or you start shaping the role.

Figure A: Scouting Discovery — Alberto Gomez (RHP), KC International Complex



Perspective: A fresh international-complex arm added to the pipeline: Alberto Gomez, a 16-year-old right-hander with a power-leaning profile and developing secondaries. Early read: intriguing raw ingredients—now it's about polish, repeatable strikes, and a clear development lane.
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Around the League

• Mike Brosseau went 5-for-5 at Minute Maid Park and still walked out of a loss as Oakland fell 14–12 to Houston last night—one of those “career box score, empty feeling” nights.
• Texas acquired C Reese McGuire from Boston in exchange for RF Tommy Specht—not a headline trade, but a direction trade.
• A note to monitor: reports that the Twins have made a trade offer to the Yankees. Minnesota sitting atop the Central makes any upgrade ripple through our division math.

KC Farm System — AAA Omaha

Omaha and Durham had a bench-clearing brawl centered around Gavin Cross and Luinder Avila. League handed down suspensions: Cross gets 4, Avila gets 8. Cross is having a loud year at the plate (.298, 12 HR, 31 RBI), so losing him even for four stings development rhythm; Avila’s absence impacts pitching depth during a stretch where we're already doing roster maintenance across levels.
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👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑

Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 46



(OOTP25 Royals Journey — GM/Manager's Dual Log)