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Biggp07 · 02-19-2026, 11:18 AM

👑 Thursday, June 12 • Game 3 👑

We had bursts, not control.

Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians | Progressive Field
Weather: Clear skies, 69° | Wind: In from LF, 11 mph | Attendance: 34,717 | First pitch: 1:10 PM ET
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

We walked in today knowing that the first two games of this set didn't meet our standards. The extra-inning sting in Game 1 and the homers in Game 2 put us in a spot where the getaway day couldn't be “play it close and see.” It had to be pressure early, score first, and keep Cleveland from landing a crooked number.

From the GM chair, I also had one more quiet worry in my pocket: we've asked a lot of the pen this week, and Cleveland's lineup has been living off traffic. If we didn't get length, we'd be chasing matchups all afternoon.

Cleveland Guardians Series Snapshot

Rubber game of the series with us trying to salvage a split and Cleveland trying to bury us under a home sweep. They've played the cleaner baseball in this park—moving runners, taking the extra 90, cashing in when there's a duck on the pond. Our job today was to flip that script and make them play from behind.

Series Matchup Board — Game 3

• RHP Brady Singer vs. RHP Trenton Roby

A matchup we expected to be winnable if we controlled the middle innings. Singer's plan was ground balls and quick counts; Roby's plan was to keep us from stacking hard contact.
Instead, both starters left fingerprints all over the game—but Cleveland landed the biggest punch, and it came in one swing that turned the whole afternoon.
________________________________________

Game Day Log — Royals vs. Guardians (Game 3)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st (We show life immediately, no cash):
Maikel Garcia ripped a leadoff double to start the day with intent—exactly what we wanted. But Roby settled, and we stranded it. One inning in and the theme was already forming: we were going to hit… but could we finish?

2nd (More traffic, still no run):
Waters singled, stole second, took third on a groundout—textbook pressure. But we didn't bring him home. That's the kind of inning you regret later when the game turns into a slugfest.

3rd (We strike first, then it answers back):
Garcia tripled and scored on Pasquantino's sac fly—1–0 Royals. Good baseball. Bottom half, Kyle Manzardo answered with a solo homer to tie it 1–1. No panic yet, but the warning light was on: Cleveland's DH was seeing the ball well.

4th (Our best inning… until their grand salami):
Top 4, we finally landed a real punch: Payton doubled, and Drew Waters smashed a 2-run homer—3–1 Royals. That should've been the inning where we stepped on their throat.

Bottom 4 was the turning point—and it happened fast. Giménez doubled, Rocchio walked, Fry singled… and Myles Straw hit a grand slam. Just like that, 3–1 became 5–3, Cleveland. That's the kind of swing that changes dugouts, changes bullpen lanes, changes how you manage every inning the rest of the day.

5th (We try to gather ourselves):
We put a couple on, didn't cash. Cleveland didn't score either. It felt like the game paused for a breath before the late innings got loud again.

6th (We miss a window, they add on):
We had two hits in the top half and left them—again. Bottom 6, Cleveland manufactured: Rocchio walked and stole second, Fry singled, then Kwan delivered an RBI single—6–3. That run mattered because it came right after we failed to cash our own traffic.

7th (We chip, they answer):
Vinnie homered to make it 6–4 Royals—big swing, big lift. Bottom 7, they tacked on with a sac fly—7–4 Guardians. That's Cleveland baseball in this park: not always loud, but always moving you closer to the edge.

8th (The dagger):
Cleveland loaded a little pressure, and Manzardo punished again—a 2-run homer to push it to 9–4. That was the knockout blow. We were still swinging, but we were now chasing five outs from behind with the margin stretched.

9th (Late push, too late):
We didn't roll over. Waters doubled, Massey moved him, and Nick Loftin launched a 2-run homer to make it 9–6. But that was the last bite. We couldn't get the tying run to the plate, and the series ended on a missed comeback instead of a win.
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Final

Royals 6, Guardians 9
Royals (15 H, 0 E) | Guardians (13 H, 1 E)

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Royals' loud bats:
• Maikel Garcia: 3-for-5 (double + triple), table-setter all day
• Drew Waters: 3-for-5, 2-run HR, late double
• Vinnie Pasquantino: sac fly RBI + solo HR
• Nick Loftin: 2-for-5, 2-run HR

Guardians hammer: Kyle Manzardo — 2 HR, 3 RBI; Myles Straw — grand slam

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Code:

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec            IP   H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
Singer, B.         L (2-2)        4.1   6    5    5    2    2    2    67   4.97
Veneziano, A.                     2.1   5    2    2    2    1    0    48   5.79
Lopez, J.                         1.1   2    2    2    2    1    1    20   2.45

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

1. We scored 6 and lost—because the damage came in one inning. Their bottom 4th was the game. We had them at 3–1 and let it flip to 5–3 on one swing. That's the difference between “win a getaway day” and “board the bus irritated.”

2. Singer's day got sideways—and it got worse. He wore the grand slam inning, and the box also flagged the bigger issue: Singer was injured while pitching. That's not just a line item—that's rotation planning, workload planning, and potentially a ripple into how aggressive we get as July approaches.

3. We did enough offensively to win, but we didn't cash early traffic. Fifteen hits should translate into a win more often than not. But we left too many chances on the table in the first six innings, then tried to sprint uphill in the ninth. Against a club executing at home, that's a tough way to live.

4. Bullpen lanes are tightening. Veneziano battled but gave up more traffic than we can afford in this park, and we walked too many Guardians overall. From the GM chair: We'll immediately reassess leverage roles and health. From the manager's chair: we need cleaner strike-one execution tomorrow—because the next series won't give us free outs either.

Around the League

A reminder that baseball's a long season everywhere—not just in our clubhouse. After an on-field confrontation, San Antonio's Kale Emshoff drew a 2-game suspension, while Midland's Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang was hit with 6 games. Cooler heads don't just win in the majors; they keep affiliates from bleeding games in the minors, too.
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👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑

Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 64

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

02-19-2026, 11:18 AM	#93
Biggp07 Major Leagues Join Date: Sep 2024 Posts: 360	⚾ June 2025 — Game 64: Chasing the Game from the Middle 👑 Thursday, June 12 • Game 3 👑 We had bursts, not control. Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians \| Progressive Field Weather: Clear skies, 69° \| Wind: In from LF, 11 mph \| Attendance: 34,717 \| First pitch: 1:10 PM ET ________________________________________ Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk) We walked in today knowing that the first two games of this set didn't meet our standards. The extra-inning sting in Game 1 and the homers in Game 2 put us in a spot where the getaway day couldn't be “play it close and see.” It had to be pressure early, score first, and keep Cleveland from landing a crooked number. From the GM chair, I also had one more quiet worry in my pocket: we've asked a lot of the pen this week, and Cleveland's lineup has been living off traffic. If we didn't get length, we'd be chasing matchups all afternoon. Cleveland Guardians Series Snapshot Rubber game of the series with us trying to salvage a split and Cleveland trying to bury us under a home sweep. They've played the cleaner baseball in this park—moving runners, taking the extra 90, cashing in when there's a duck on the pond. Our job today was to flip that script and make them play from behind. Series Matchup Board — Game 3 • RHP Brady Singer vs. RHP Trenton Roby A matchup we expected to be winnable if we controlled the middle innings. Singer's plan was ground balls and quick counts; Roby's plan was to keep us from stacking hard contact. Instead, both starters left fingerprints all over the game—but Cleveland landed the biggest punch, and it came in one swing that turned the whole afternoon. ________________________________________ Game Day Log — Royals vs. Guardians (Game 3) Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View) 1st (We show life immediately, no cash): Maikel Garcia ripped a leadoff double to start the day with intent—exactly what we wanted. But Roby settled, and we stranded it. One inning in and the theme was already forming: we were going to hit… but could we finish? 2nd (More traffic, still no run): Waters singled, stole second, took third on a groundout—textbook pressure. But we didn't bring him home. That's the kind of inning you regret later when the game turns into a slugfest. 3rd (We strike first, then it answers back): Garcia tripled and scored on Pasquantino's sac fly—1–0 Royals. Good baseball. Bottom half, Kyle Manzardo answered with a solo homer to tie it 1–1. No panic yet, but the warning light was on: Cleveland's DH was seeing the ball well. 4th (Our best inning… until their grand salami): Top 4, we finally landed a real punch: Payton doubled, and Drew Waters smashed a 2-run homer—3–1 Royals. That should've been the inning where we stepped on their throat. Bottom 4 was the turning point—and it happened fast. Giménez doubled, Rocchio walked, Fry singled… and Myles Straw hit a grand slam. Just like that, 3–1 became 5–3, Cleveland. That's the kind of swing that changes dugouts, changes bullpen lanes, changes how you manage every inning the rest of the day. 5th (We try to gather ourselves): We put a couple on, didn't cash. Cleveland didn't score either. It felt like the game paused for a breath before the late innings got loud again. 6th (We miss a window, they add on): We had two hits in the top half and left them—again. Bottom 6, Cleveland manufactured: Rocchio walked and stole second, Fry singled, then Kwan delivered an RBI single—6–3. That run mattered because it came right after we failed to cash our own traffic. 7th (We chip, they answer): Vinnie homered to make it 6–4 Royals—big swing, big lift. Bottom 7, they tacked on with a sac fly—7–4 Guardians. That's Cleveland baseball in this park: not always loud, but always moving you closer to the edge. 8th (The dagger): Cleveland loaded a little pressure, and Manzardo punished again—a 2-run homer to push it to 9–4. That was the knockout blow. We were still swinging, but we were now chasing five outs from behind with the margin stretched. 9th (Late push, too late): We didn't roll over. Waters doubled, Massey moved him, and Nick Loftin launched a 2-run homer to make it 9–6. But that was the last bite. We couldn't get the tying run to the plate, and the series ended on a missed comeback instead of a win. ________________________________________ Final Royals 6, Guardians 9 Royals (15 H, 0 E) \| Guardians (13 H, 1 E) Royals' loud bats: • Maikel Garcia: 3-for-5 (double + triple), table-setter all day • Drew Waters: 3-for-5, 2-run HR, late double • Vinnie Pasquantino: sac fly RBI + solo HR • Nick Loftin: 2-for-5, 2-run HR Guardians hammer: Kyle Manzardo — 2 HR, 3 RBI; Myles Straw — grand slam Code: Kansas City Pitching Scoreline Pitcher Dec IP H R ER BB K HR PI ERA Singer, B. L (2-2) 4.1 6 5 5 2 2 2 67 4.97 Veneziano, A. 2.1 5 2 2 2 1 0 48 5.79 Lopez, J. 1.1 2 2 2 2 1 1 20 2.45 ________________________________________ Front Office Note / Takeaways 1. We scored 6 and lost—because the damage came in one inning. Their bottom 4th was the game. We had them at 3–1 and let it flip to 5–3 on one swing. That's the difference between “win a getaway day” and “board the bus irritated.” 2. Singer's day got sideways—and it got worse. He wore the grand slam inning, and the box also flagged the bigger issue: *Singer was injured while pitching. That's not just a line item—that's rotation planning, workload planning, and potentially a ripple into how aggressive we get as July approaches. 3. We did enough offensively to win, but we didn't cash early traffic.* Fifteen hits should translate into a win more often than not. But we left too many chances on the table in the first six innings, then tried to sprint uphill in the ninth. Against a club executing at home, that's a tough way to live. 4. Bullpen lanes are tightening. Veneziano battled but gave up more traffic than we can afford in this park, and we walked too many Guardians overall. From the GM chair: We'll immediately reassess leverage roles and health. From the manager's chair: we need cleaner strike-one execution tomorrow—because the next series won't give us free outs either. Around the League A reminder that baseball's a long season everywhere—not just in our clubhouse. After an on-field confrontation, San Antonio's Kale Emshoff drew a 2-game suspension, while Midland's Chen Zhong-Ao Zhuang was hit with 6 games. Cooler heads don't just win in the majors; they keep affiliates from bleeding games in the minors, too. ________________________________________ 👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑 Kansas City Royals \| Regular Season 2025 - Game 64 (OOTP25 Royals Journey — GM/Manager's Dual Log)