Boys In Blue – The Experiment Continues…

[Biggp07]

👑 Monday, September 08 • Game 1👑

The Royals finally punch Cleveland first.

Cleveland Guardians at Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 67 degrees | Wind: Out to center at 8 mph | Attendance: 28,790 | First pitch: 3:10 PM CT
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Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

Just like that, we were back at Kauffman, and Cleveland was back in the other dugout. There are series that matter because of the standings, and then there are series that matter because a team has taken something from you. Cleveland had taken too much from us this season — nine wins in ten tries, a sweep in their building, and the kind of division-room confidence that makes a rival walk a little taller. This final regular season set is about the standings, yes, but it is also about pride. I do not want to walk out of 2025 knowing they took all but one from us.

The rotation adjustment appears to have given us a little more oxygen. That extra day of rest, the buffer against a short-term injury crisis, the willingness to slide starters a day right instead of forcing them through trouble — that might be the trick we carry down the stretch if October remains on the table. September does not reward stubbornness. It rewards survival, adaptation, and the ability to keep the next game from inheriting the last game's damage.

Tonight, Spencer Turnbull had the ball. The ask was straightforward but heavy: give us length, put Cleveland on the defensive, and help us bring a little redemption back into the building. We had taken three of four in Houston, and now the challenge was to carry that home without losing the edge in the unpacking.


Cleveland Guardians Series Snapshot

We open a three-game home series against the Guardians, the club still leading the Central Division at 78–59 entering the set, playing .569 baseball. Their season profile was built more on run prevention than offensive volume: 613 runs scored ranked 11th in the American League, with a .253 batting average ranking 7th, while their pitching staff ranked 3rd in runs allowed, 3rd in starters' ERA at 3.82, and tied for 7th in bullpen ERA at 4.53. Against us, the number that mattered most was the ugliest one: 9–1 in Cleveland's favor.

The projected series board put us right back into a difficult run of matchups:

RHP Spencer Turnbull vs. RHP Tekoah Roby
RHP Hunter Brown vs. LHP Joey Cantillo
RHP Luinder Avila vs. RHP Tanner Bibee

Their top group still runs through Bo Naylor, Cade Smith, José Ramírez, Gavin Williams, and Andrés Giménez. That is a club built to punish impatience. Tonight, though, we finally made them play from behind.


Series Matchup Board — Game 1

• Royals Starter: RHP Spencer Turnbull — 13–8, 3.90 ERA entering the series

• Guardians Starter: RHP Tekoah Roby — 10–6, 3.67 ERA entering the series

Roby had already quieted us in Cleveland, but this version of the Royals lineup did not let him settle. He lasted only 3.2 innings, giving up 9 hits, 5 earned runs, and 2 home runs on 66 pitches. For once, against Cleveland, we were the team doing the early damage.

Turnbull gave us exactly the kind of start a club needs after a week of patched rotation lanes. He went 7 innings, allowed only 3 hits and 2 earned runs, walked nobody, struck out 8, and earned the win. He probably had a case to keep going, but a finger blister forced the decision. Noah Cameron took it from there and finished the final two innings without allowing a hit.
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Game Day Log — Royals vs. Guardians (Game 1)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Turnbull opened with a little traffic but no damage. Steven Kwan flew out, José Ramírez grounded out, Andrés Giménez singled, and Gabriel Arias struck out looking. Roby answered by striking out Sam Haggerty and Davis Schneider around a Pasquantino groundout. Scoreless after one, but Turnbull had already shown the kind of command that keeps Cleveland from getting its usual early grip.

2nd Inning
Cleveland got a one-out single from Alberto González, but Turnbull kept the inning clean. Then our lineup finally hit Cleveland before Cleveland could hit us. Mark Payton opened with a single, but he was picked off at first. That could have emptied the inning. Instead, Austin Meadows turned on a Roby pitch and drove a solo homer 427 feet to center, his 2nd of the season. Kyle Isbel followed with an infield single, and Christian Arroyo crushed a two-run homer 430 feet. Dillon Dingler added another infield single before Haggerty lined out. Three runs in the inning, and suddenly Kauffman had some bite back. Royals led 3–0.

3rd Inning
Turnbull worked his first clean inning, retiring Siri, Kwan, and Ramírez in order. Vinnie Pasquantino singled in the bottom half, but Schneider, Payton, and Massey could not move him around. Still, the game had settled into the shape we wanted: Turnbull in control, Roby uncomfortable, and Cleveland chasing.

4th Inning
Turnbull struck out Arias and Polanco in a clean top half, continuing to tighten the game. In the bottom half, Arroyo singled with two outs, Dingler followed with a single, and Haggerty drove a ball to the gap for a two-run double. Arroyo scored, Dingler came around behind him, and Roby’s night was over. Jordan Romano entered to stop it, but the Royals had stretched the lead to 5–0. The inning felt like a release valve after all those Cleveland games where one missed chance seemed to cost us everything.

5th Inning
Turnbull struck out González and Rocchio before getting Ivan Herrera to fly out. Kansas City went quietly in the bottom half against Romano. Five innings in, the scoreboard said 5–0, but the dugout knew Cleveland does not go quietly. Turnbull kept making sure they had no room to start.

6th Inning
Another clean inning from Turnbull: Siri struck out, Kwan popped out, and Ramírez grounded out. Meadows walked in the bottom half but was caught stealing, and the inning ended without more damage. That caught stealing was sloppy, but with Turnbull cruising, it did not sting the same way it might have in Cleveland.

7th Inning
Cleveland finally dented him. Giménez was hit by a pitch, Arias struck out, and Polanco doubled down the line to score Giménez. González grounded out to bring Polanco home, cutting the lead to 5–2. Turnbull finished the inning, but the finger blister changed the next decision. At 86 pitches, he had earned more, but September forces you to protect the arm as much as the line.

The Royals answered immediately. Dingler walked, Haggerty singled, and Cleveland went to Richard Lovelady. Pasquantino forced Dingler at second, Schneider walked, Payton walked, and Massey took a hit by pitch to force in a run. Not pretty, but effective. Royals led 6–2.

8th Inning
Noah Cameron came in for Turnbull and gave us the bridge. Herrera walked to start the inning, but Siri forced him at second, Kwan flew out, and Ramírez popped out. In the bottom half, Isbel singled, then was caught stealing, but Arroyo singled again, stole second, and scored when Haggerty singled to left and Steven Kwan’s throw got away. Royals led 7–2.

9th Inning
Cameron finished it cleanly. Giménez lined out, Arias grounded out, and Polanco grounded out. For once, Cleveland did not get the late noise, the crooked-number scare, or the final word. Final: Royals 7, Guardians 2.
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Final

Royals 7, Guardians 2
Royals (13 H, 0 E) | Guardians (3 H, 1 E)

Player of the Game: Christian Arroyo

Royals Notables: Arroyo delivered his best Royals moment so far, going 3-for-4 with his 1st home run, 3 runs scored, 2 RBIs, and a stolen base. Haggerty went 3-for-5 with a double and 3 RBIs. Meadows hit his 2nd homer, Isbel added two hits, and Dingler reached three times with two singles and a walk.



Winning Pitcher: Spencer Turnbull, 14–8
Losing Pitcher: Tekoah Roby, 10–7

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec           IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
S. Turnbull       W (14-8)       7.0    3    2    2    0    8    0    86   3.84
N. Cameron                       2.0    0    0    0    1    0    0    32   2.70

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Front Office Note / Takeaways

• This one mattered beyond the standings. Cleveland had controlled the season series, and we needed a response at home. A 7–2 win does not erase the 9–1 hole they brought into the series, but it gives the clubhouse proof that we can put them on their heels.

• Turnbull gave us seven strong innings before the blister. He allowed only 3 hits, struck out 8, walked none, and probably could have pushed deeper if not for the finger issue. That is the rotation version we need down the stretch.

• Cameron did exactly what the moment required. Two innings, no hits, no runs, one walk, and no drama. With Turnbull exiting under injury watch, Cameron protected the win and the bullpen plan.

• Arroyo earned more run. Three hits, a homer, a steal, and three runs scored from the shortstop spot is not a footnote. That is September usefulness when the lineup needs fresh answers.

• Haggerty’s bat gave the bottom half teeth. Three hits and 3 RBIs from the DH spot changed the shape of the lineup. That fourth-inning double gave us separation, and the eighth-inning single helped close the door.

• The win streak is at three, but some bats are still cold. The result feels great, and the group is starting to remember how to win, but we cannot hide from the quiet spots in the order. That has to be fixed quickly if this run is going to stretch into October.


Around the League

The new MLB power rankings still tell a complicated story. Arizona remains at the top, St. Louis sits second, and Detroit has surged to 3rd with a strong upward trend. Cleveland holds 5th despite a downward marker, while we sit 8th with our own downward tendency. That means the standings chase is not just about Cleveland anymore — Detroit is making noise right beside us.

Here are the current team power rankings for Major League Baseball:

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Arizona Diamondbacks (121.3, o)
2) St. Louis Cardinals (114.1, +)
3) Detroit Tigers (109.2, ++)
4) Tampa Bay Rays (104.8, -)
5) Cleveland Guardians (102.4, -)
6) San Diego Padres (100.2, ++)
7) Baltimore Orioles (97.2, ++)
8) Kansas City Royals (97.2, -)
9) Philadelphia Phillies (96.8, ++)
10) Cincinnati Reds (95.5, ++)
11) Pittsburgh Pirates (93.3, ++)
12) Minnesota Twins (92.2, +)
13) San Francisco Giants (92.0, +)
14) Milwaukee Brewers (91.7, ++)
15) Texas Rangers (91.7, --)
16) Seattle Mariners (91.0, --)
17) Oakland Athletics (89.8, --)
18) Chicago White Sox (86.8, ++)
19) Chicago Cubs (86.3, --)
20) Boston Red Sox (85.7, o)
21) Atlanta Braves (83.2, --)
22) Los Angeles Angels (80.3, --)
23) New York Mets (79.3, -)
24) Colorado Rockies (77.6, +)
25) New York Yankees (76.6, ++)
26) Houston Astros (76.1, --)
27) Toronto Blue Jays (74.8, ++)
28) Miami Marlins (72.8, -)
29) Los Angeles Dodgers (72.8, -)
30) Washington Nationals (69.2, -)

Colson Montgomery earned American League Player of the Week honors after hitting .462 with 5 home runs and 14 RBIs, while Arizona's Corbin Carroll took the National League honor with a .542 average, 5 home runs, and 12 RBIs. Carroll's larger season line remains loud: .327, 29 home runs, 120 RBIs, and 112 runs scored.

Minor Leagues

In the Carolina League, Columbia remains first in the power rankings, and Jose Cerice was named Carolina League Player of the Week after hitting .400 with 3 home runs and 6 RBIs. That gives the organization another development note to carry alongside the major-league push.

Here are the current team power rankings for the Carolina League:

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Columbia Fireflies (113.1, o)
2) Carolina Mudcats (104.6, ++)
3) Charleston RiverDogs (104.1, o)
4) Salem Red Sox (101.6, o)
5) Lynchburg Hillcats (100.8, --)
6) Fayetteville Woodpeckers (94.8, o)
7) Fredericksburg Nationals (86.0, o)
8) Augusta GreenJackets (84.7, +)
9) Myrtle Beach Pelicans (79.8, +)
10) Delmarva Shorebirds (75.8, -)
11) Down East Wood Ducks (75.3, -)
12) Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (59.8, o)

Across the wider baseball map, Alex Kirilloff earned KBO Player of the Week honors, and Kenta Maeda announced his retirement with Seattle. Maeda closes his career with a 73–58 record, 1,122 strikeouts, and a 4.30 ERA — one more reminder that September is both a race and a reckoning.
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👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑

Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 139



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Tuesday, September 09 • Game 2👑

Cleveland steals back a 6–5 game at Kauffman.

Cleveland Guardians at Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 67 degrees | Wind: Out to center at 12 mph | Attendance: 31,573 | First pitch: 6:40 PM CT
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Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

There was a different kind of sound in the clubhouse this morning. Not loud confidence, not celebration, but satisfaction — the earned kind. Last night mattered. We finally put Cleveland on its heels, put seven runs on the board, and reminded ourselves that this lineup could still bring pressure offense against the team that had spent most of the season turning our mistakes into their momentum. The pitching was good enough, the defense held, and for one night at Kauffman, the Guardians had to walk out of our building with the loss.

Tonight, the plan was to give them a different look. Hunter Brown got the ball, and part of the hope was that a new arm, a different power shape, and the carryover from Monday's win could be enough to take the series before they had time to re-center. This was not just about beating Cleveland once. It was about making them feel us twice.


Cleveland Guardians Series Snapshot

This was Game 2 of the final regular-season series against Cleveland, and after Monday's 7–2 win, the room had a chance to shift the story. Cleveland had entered the set with a 9–1 edge over us in the season series, and even after finally landing a clean punch in the opener, the bigger objective remained clear: take the series, reclaim some pride, and keep pressure alive in the Central and Wild Card pictures.

The Guardians have not overwhelmed us with one formula. Some nights it has been pitching. Some nights it has been contact. Some nights, it has been one swing from the right veteran.


Series Matchup Board — Game 2

• Royals Starter: RHP Hunter Brown

• Guardians Starter: LHP Joey Cantillo

Brown's line is one of those that shows both why I believe in the arm and why the game hurts. He gave us 7 innings, allowed only 3 hits, struck out 10, and walked nobody. That is usually enough to win. But two of the three hits left the yard, and Cleveland turned an early error into two first-inning runs before Saggese added a solo shot in the fifth.

Cantillo did not get through the fourth, and we put pressure on him hard when the lineup finally broke loose. He allowed 8 hits, 5 runs, 4 earned, with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts in 3.2 innings. Tim Herrin then gave Cleveland the bridge we could not match late, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings and holding our offense in place after the fourth-inning burst.
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Game Day Log — Royals vs. Guardians (Game 2)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
The game started with the kind of small crack that Cleveland has punished all season. Steven Kwan reached on Arroyo's error at short, and even after Brown struck out Bo Naylor, Kwan stole second. José Ramírez then turned on a pitch and drove a two-run homer 418 feet to center. Brown struck out Giménez and Arias to stop it there, but Cleveland had a 2–0 lead without needing much room.

We got a two-out single from Drew Waters in the bottom half, but Lane Thomas and Salvador Perez could not bring him around. The early feel was familiar: Cleveland ahead, us needing to answer before their pitching settled.

2nd Inning
Brown answered with a clean second, striking out Alberto González and Thomas Saggese around a Polanco popout. In the bottom half, Christian Arroyo singled, and Davis Schneider and Mark Payton both walked to load the bases with two outs, but Maikel Garcia struck out swinging. That was a missed chance, and against Cleveland, those have a way of staying in the dugout long after the inning ends.

3rd Inning
Brown retired Kiermaier, Kwan, and Naylor in order, and Cantillo did the same to Waters, Thomas, and Perez. Through three, the offense was still waiting for the inning that could change the night. Brown had already settled, but the scoreboard still had us chasing.

4th Inning
The inning finally came. Michael Massey singled, and Devin Mann ripped a run-scoring triple to cut it to 2–1. Arroyo followed with a hard single to bring Mann home, tying the game. Schneider singled, Payton doubled to score Arroyo, and Garcia singled in Schneider. Waters struck out, Garcia was caught stealing, but Lane Thomas reached on Ramírez’s error and Payton scored. Five runs, six hits, and suddenly Kauffman had the kind of energy we had been waiting to hear against Cleveland. Royals led 5–2.

5th Inning
Brown nearly got through the response clean, but Saggese hit a two-out solo home run, cutting the lead to 5–3. That mattered because it kept Cleveland close enough to keep their bullpen map aggressive. Herrin then quieted us in the bottom half, though Arroyo added another single to continue his hot series.

6th Inning
Brown worked around a Ramírez single in the sixth, retiring Kwan, Naylor, and Giménez around it. Garcia singled in the bottom half, but Waters forced him at second and Thomas grounded out. We still led by two, but the offense had stopped adding on, and that began to feel dangerous.

7th Inning
Brown gave us the clean shutdown inning we needed, retiring Arias, Polanco, and González in order. In the bottom half, Herrin got Perez, Massey, and Mann without trouble. Hunter had done his job. Seven innings, ten strikeouts, and a lead. That is the handoff every manager wants.

8th Inning
Then the game slipped. Jacob Lopez entered, and Saggese reached when Mann dropped a throw at first. Herrera flew out, but Brayan Rocchio singled, and Bo Naylor’s fielder’s choice put runners at the corners with two outs. Ramírez doubled to center, scoring Saggese and Naylor, and the game was tied 5–5. Angel Martínez lined out to end it, but the damage had already landed. We had asked Lopez to protect a two-run lead against the heart of a rival’s order, and Cleveland turned the inning into a reset.

Arroyo opened the bottom half with his fourth hit of the night, but Schneider struck out, Payton flew out, and Garcia grounded out. The chance to reclaim the game disappeared quickly.

9th Inning
Lopez stayed in and got Arias to pop out, but Polanco doubled. González struck out, leaving us one out from keeping the game tied. Saggese then doubled down the line, scoring Polanco and giving Cleveland a 6–5 lead. James McArthur came in and got DeLauter to fly out, but the lead was gone.

Cade Smith took the ninth for Cleveland, and there was no final push. Meadows struck out looking, Thomas lined out to left, and Perez flew out to center. Final: Guardians 6, Royals 5.
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Final

Royals 5, Guardians 6
Royals (11 H, 2 E) | Guardians (7 H, 1 E)

Player of the Game: José Ramírez - Ramírez carried Cleveland with a 3-for-4 night, including a two-run homer, a two-run double, 4 RBIs, and a run scored.

Royals Notables: Arroyo went 4-for-4 and continued to make a case for more September run, while Devin Mann tripled in a run, Payton doubled in another, and Garcia added two hits with an RBI.



Winning Pitcher: Antwone Kelly, 2–1
Losing Pitcher: Jacob Lopez, 1–2
Save: Cade Smith, 40

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec           IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
H. Brown                         7.0    3    3    2    0   10    2    98   4.96
J. Lopez          L (1-2), BS    1.2    4    3    1    0    1    0    26   2.84
J. McArthur                      0.1    0    0    0    0    0    0     3   0.77

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Front Office Note / Takeaways

Tonight, it was José Ramírez doing what star players do, and Thomas Saggese delivering the late extra-base hit that made the difference.

For seven innings, we were close to making them feel us again. Brown had swing-and-miss stuff. The lineup found a big inning. Arroyo stayed hot. But Cleveland has been the hardest wall on our schedule all year for a reason. They waited out one mistake, then another, and by the time the ninth inning came around, the game we had in our hands had turned into one more warning about what September refuses to forgive.

• We nearly had the series in hand. A five-run fourth, seven strong innings from Hunter Brown, and an 11-hit night should have been enough. Against Cleveland, “should have” has been a dangerous phrase all year.

• Lopez let it slip away. He was charged with 3 runs, though only 1 was earned, and took both the loss and the blown save. The defense did not help him, but the late contact to Ramírez and Saggese decided the night.

• Brown deserved better. Seven innings, 10 strikeouts, no walks, and only 3 hits allowed is a winning start by any standard. The first-inning error and two home runs changed the line, but the stuff was strong enough to build on.

• Arroyo is turning into a September answer. Four hits tonight after his Player of the Game performance on September 8 gives us something real from the shortstop spot. The glove had the early error, but the bat is forcing its way into the lineup conversation.

• The two errors hurt more than the box score can show. Kwan reached on Arroyo’s error in the first and scored on Ramírez’s homer. Saggese reached on Mann’s dropped throw in the eighth and scored on Ramírez’s tying double. In September, free baserunners are not harmless.

• This is exactly what we cannot do now. The room had satisfaction this morning. By night, we had another reminder that Cleveland does not need much help. If we are going to take the finale, we have to close cleaner than this.


Around the League

Tampa Bay received difficult news on Jeffrey Springs, whose season is over after a torn ulnar collateral ligament. Springs had made 27 starts and carried an 8–6 record with a 3.74 ERA, so losing him in September removes a meaningful rotation piece from the Rays' stretch run.

Inside the Royals system, Ariel Almonte gave Northwest Arkansas a loud night at Momentum Bank Ballpark, hitting three solo home runs in an 8–6 win over Midland. He finished 3-for-5 with 3 runs and 3 RBIs, and his season line now sits at .407 with 7 home runs, 14 RBIs, and 10 runs scored. That is the kind of minor-league surge that makes the front office pull the file back open even while the big-league club is fighting inning to inning.
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👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑

Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 140



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Wednesday, September 10 • Game 3👑

The Royals turn a tight game into an 8–3 statement win over Cleveland.

Cleveland Guardians at Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 69 degrees | Wind: In from center at 11 mph | Attendance: 31,323 | First pitch: 6:40 PM CT
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Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

We just missed the win yesterday, and that kind of loss tends to follow you into the next morning if you let it. Hunter Brown gave us the kind of start we needed; the lineup gave us enough to win; and then, for a brief window, the game slipped open. Cleveland took it because that is what Cleveland has done to us too many times this season. They do not need a wide door. They only need the latch to loosen.

Tonight became our last chance for regular-season redemption against them. Not complete redemption — the season series has already carried too much Cleveland weight for that — but enough to leave Kauffman knowing we answered with something real. Detroit has started finding its rhythm in the Wild Card chase, and we have been trying to pull the nose up after too many rough patches. With only a few more games left, the room has stopped talking in maybes. It is do-or-die time now, and that is not clubhouse drama. That is the standings talking.

Luinder Avila got the ball, and I needed him to be more than a placeholder. He has grown from a farm-system note into one of the more important September arms in this organization. Tonight was another test of whether that growth can survive major-league pressure, division pressure, and the kind of opponent that keeps exposing our soft spots.


Cleveland Guardians Series Snapshot

This was Game 3 of the final regular-season set against Cleveland at Kauffman Stadium. We took the opener 7–2 behind Spencer Turnbull and Christian Arroyo, then let Game 2 slide away late in a 6–5 loss that felt like a wasted chance to take the series early. That left the finale as the deciding point: either Cleveland walks out having taken another series from us, or we finally take one back in front of our own crowd.

The Guardians came in leading the Central and entered the series with a dominant head-to-head record against us. They have been the team we cannot quite shake, the one that turns our missed chances into their late-inning answers.


Series Matchup Board — Game 3

• Royals Starter: RHP Luinder Avila

• Guardians Starter: RHP Tanner Bibee

Avila found his rhythm after a traffic-heavy first and delivered the exact start we needed: 7 innings, 4 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts on 102 pitches. The box score named him Player of the Game. That was not just a good outing. That was a young starter standing in the middle of a September storm and holding his ground.

Bibee held us quiet for four innings, but once the lower half of the lineup began creating traffic, the game changed. He finished with 6.1 innings, 5 hits, 6 earned runs, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Trevor Stephan inherited a runner and could not stop the seventh from turning into the inning that decided the night.
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Game Day Log — Royals vs. Guardians (Game 3)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Avila had to work immediately. Steven Kwan and Bo Naylor flew out, but Angel Martínez walked, José Ramírez walked behind him, and Andrés Giménez hit into a fielder’s choice to end the threat. Two runners, no runs. That was an important early hold because Cleveland has made a living against us by turning the first crack into a crooked number. Bibee walked Davis Schneider in the bottom half, but the Royals did not move him. Scoreless after one.

2nd Inning
Thomas Saggese singled with one out for Cleveland, but Avila struck out Chase DeLauter and José Siri to strand him. Kansas City went down in order in the bottom half. Through two, Avila was not cruising yet, but he was avoiding the kind of early inning that forces the bullpen phone to twitch.

3rd Inning
Avila gave us his first clean inning, retiring Kwan, Naylor, and Martínez, including a called strikeout to finish the frame. Maikel Garcia singled with two outs in the bottom half, but Pasquantino grounded back to the mound. Still scoreless. This was the kind of tight early game where one mistake pitch felt like it might decide the night.

4th Inning
Ramírez, Giménez, and Arias went quietly against Avila, and Bibee answered by retiring Schneider, Payton, and Perez. The game had no room in it yet. Neither dugout had the big inning. Neither starter had blinked. But Avila’s body language had changed — more rhythm, more trust in the zone, more of that starter feel we have been trying to grow all year.

5th Inning
Cleveland struck first. Saggese grounded out, but DeLauter turned on a pitch and hit a solo homer to left, his first of the season, giving the Guardians a 1–0 lead. Avila kept the inning from growing by retiring Siri and Kwan.

The answer came right away, and it came from the kind of baseball that travels in September. Michael Massey walked, Sam Haggerty doubled him home, then stole third. Kyle Isbel grounded out, but Garcia singled to left and Haggerty scored. Two runs, no panic, and the Royals had turned the deficit into a 2–1 lead.

6th Inning
Cleveland threatened again when Ramírez singled and Giménez reached on an infield hit, but Avila struck out Arias to leave two aboard. That was a separator inning. It kept the lead intact and stopped Cleveland from immediately stealing the air back. Kansas City went quietly in the bottom half, but Avila had done the important work.

7th Inning
Avila finished his night like a pitcher who understood the assignment. Saggese struck out, DeLauter grounded out, and Jorge Polanco grounded out as a pinch hitter. Seven innings, one run, and the game still in our hands.

Then the offense broke the game open. Massey was hit by a pitch, Haggerty reached on an infield single, and Isbel walked to load the bases. Garcia drove a double to center, clearing the bases and stretching the lead to 5–1. Stephan entered, but Pasquantino reached on an infield single, Schneider’s fielder’s choice brought Garcia home, and Payton doubled in Schneider. Five runs in the inning, and for the first time all night, Cleveland was the one trying to stop the bleeding. Royals led 7–1.

8th Inning
James McArthur came in for the eighth and had to work through traffic. Naylor walked, Martínez flew out, and Ramírez doubled to right to score Naylor. A wild pitch brought Ramírez home, cutting it to 7–3, but McArthur got Giménez to fly out and limited the damage.

Kansas City got one back in the bottom half. Meadows was hit by a pitch, stole second, and advanced to third on a throwing error by Naylor. Haggerty then singled him home for his third hit of the night. Royals led 8–3, and the room finally had some breathing space.

9th Inning
McArthur opened the ninth by allowing singles to Arias and Saggese, but DeLauter struck out and Kiermaier grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. That ended it clean enough. Final: Royals 8, Guardians 3. Series won. A little redemption earned.
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Final

Royals 8, Guardians 3
Royals (8 H, 0 E) | Guardians (7 H, 1 E)

Player of the Game: Luinder Avila

Royals Notables: Garcia led the offensive finish, going 3-for-5 with a double and 4 RBIs, including the bases-clearing swing in the seventh. Haggerty went 3-for-4 with a double, 2 runs, 2 RBIs, and a stolen base. Payton doubled and drove in a run, while Schneider and Garcia each added key run-scoring contact in the seventh.



Winning Pitcher: Luinder Avila, 4–6
Losing Pitcher: Tanner Bibee, 11–11

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec           IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
L. Avila          W (4-6)        7.0    4    1    1    2    5    1   102   3.95
J. McArthur                      2.0    3    2    2    1    1    0    43   1.98

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

Tonight, the script finally bent our way. They scored first. We answered. Then in the seventh, we stopped waiting and took the game by the collar.

• Avila earned this one. Seven innings, one run, and only four hits against Cleveland in a game we needed badly. He has become one of the standout arms from our system, and nights like this make that development feel less like projection and more like proof.

• Garcia delivered the separator. The seventh-inning bases-clearing double changed the night from a tight 2–1 game into a 5–1 game, and his four-RBI finish gave the lineup a top-end answer when the pressure was still real.

• Haggerty gave us the pulse all night. Three hits, the game-tying double, two runs scored, two RBIs, and a stolen base. That is exactly why September depth matters — not for the name value, but for the night when someone forces his way into the story.

• The seventh inning looked like a playoff inning. Hit batter, infield hit, walk, bases-clearing double, infield pressure, fielder’s choice, and another double. It was not one swing doing all the work. It was pressure stacked until Cleveland cracked.

• McArthur bent but finished it. Two runs in the eighth made the game less clean than we wanted, but he settled enough to finish the ninth with a double play. With the bullpen usage still being managed carefully, getting two innings from him had value.

• We took the series. After the way Cleveland has handled us this season, winning two of three at Kauffman matters. It does not erase the earlier damage, but it sends us out of the final regular-season meeting with the Guardians on our terms.


Around the League

Milwaukee took a difficult late-season hit, announcing that Freddy Peralta will miss the rest of the year with a torn back muscle suffered on September 9. Peralta’s season ends at 9–10 with a 5.36 ERA over 27 starts, holding opponents to a .255 average with 131 strikeouts in 131 innings.

It is another reminder that September does not just test the standings — it tests the durability of every roster still trying to cross the finish line.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑

Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 141



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Friday, September 12 • Game 1👑

Kansas City opens the Minnesota series with a needed 3–1 win to keep the Wild Card lane open.

Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Clear skies, 68 degrees | Wind: Out to center at 12 mph | Attendance: 34,606 | First pitch: 7:10 PM CT
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

I took time this morning to look at the standings after that 13-game stretch and the final regular-season set against Cleveland. We won that series 2–1, and I will add this plainly: we won it decisively when it mattered most. That was the task coming out of the long road-heavy stretch — find a way to win the last few, carry it back home, and bring something useful into this Minnesota series before we eventually head toward Yankee Stadium. The road trip itself still finished 3–4, but taking two from Cleveland kept them from gaining more ground and reminded them that we are not finished fighting for the top spot.

Figure 1. September 12 Regular Season Standings — Royals in the Wild Card Fight



Perspective: The standings make the front office reality clear: the Royals are no longer chasing only Cleveland — they are protecting their own lane while Detroit and Minnesota try to close the gap.

The regular season standings give the wider league view of the Royals' position: 78–63, third in the Central by tiebreaker spacing, but firmly in the American League Wild Card mix at +2½ games. Cleveland still holds the division lead, and Minnesota remains within reach behind Kansas City. The problem is that Detroit has forced its way into the conversation. They are clogging lanes, trimming margins, and making the Central feel like rush-hour traffic. With 21 games remaining and a remaining schedule winning percentage near .495, Kansas City's path is still playable — but every head-to-head game against Minnesota, Detroit, and the coming road stretch through New York now carries October weight.

The AL Central has become the tightest race in the league, and that means the final few weeks are not going to be about one big statement. They are going to be about one inning, one turn through the rotation, one game like tonight.

Figure 2. September 12 Pennant Chase Board — Central Traffic Tightens



Perspective: The pennant-chase view entering September 12 shows the Royals at 78–63, tied with Detroit and just 1½ games behind Cleveland in the AL Central.

The Wild Card Lane remains open, but crowded, with Minnesota still close enough to make this weekend series matter beyond the box score. So this three-game set against Minnesota begins as another rung on the ladder. Win it, and we keep climbing toward Cleveland and away from the crowd. Lose it, and we start making the decision for our 2025 season before the schedule has finished asking.

Tonight, we were back at the top of the rotation with Zach Eflin against David Festa. We had the pitching anchor. Minnesota had the lineup advantage on paper. The game asked which one would matter more.


Minnesota Twins Series Snapshot

Minnesota came into this three-game series at 75–65, sitting in fourth place in the Central but only four games behind the division leader. Their offense had produced 651 runs, 8th in the American League, even while their .235 batting average ranked 14th. On the run-prevention side, they had allowed 617 runs, 4th in the league, with a 4.22 starters' ERA ranking 7th and a 3.99 bullpen ERA ranking 5th. Against us, they had gone 4–6 entering the series, close enough to keep the season matchup honest.

The projected matchups set the tone:
RHP Zach Eflin vs. RHP David Festa
LHP Jordan Montgomery vs. RHP Chris Paddack
RHP Spencer Turnbull vs. RHP Joe Ryan

Their top group is built around Pablo López, Jhoan Duran, Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa, and LaMonte Wade Jr.

Turnbull remains day-to-day with the finger blister, and Brady Singer stays in the back pocket as the alternative plan if we need to protect him. That has become the September rhythm: win the game in front of us, but do not let one injury decision ruin the next three.


Series Matchup Board — Game 1

RHP Zach Eflin — 12–6, 3.27 ERA entering the series vs. RHP David Festa — 11–7, 3.55 ERA entering the series

Eflin was the difference. He allowed a first-inning solo homer to Carlos Correa, then spent the next seven-plus innings making sure Minnesota never built a proper rally. His final line: 7.1 innings, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts on 99 pitches. He earned Player of the Game honors and moved to 13–6 with a 3.19 ERA.

Festa was good enough to keep Minnesota close, but Kansas City found the runs it needed in the third and fourth. He worked 6 innings, allowed 6 hits and 3 earned runs, walked nobody, and struck out 6. That made this a clean, tight game — no chaos, no defensive collapse, just enough offense behind an ace-level start.
________________________________________


Game Day Log — Royals vs. Twins (Game 1)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Eflin's night began with a jolt. Willi Castro lined out to left, but Carlos Correa worked the count full and drove a solo homer 430 feet to center. That put Minnesota ahead 1–0 before the crowd had settled. Eflin answered by retiring LaMonte Wade Jr. and striking out Austin Riley, which mattered. A leadoff-style homer can rattle a pitcher; a solo homer followed by command can steady the whole dugout.

In the bottom half, Vinnie Pasquantino singled with one out, but Davis Schneider struck out looking, and Mark Payton struck out swinging. Festa had the lead and an early strikeout feel.

2nd Inning
Eflin walked Max Kepler to open the inning, but Byron Buxton struck out, and Brent Rooker grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. That was the first real sign that Eflin could control the night even after the Correa swing. Kansas City put Austin Meadows aboard on a hard single, and he stole second, but Isbel struck out looking, and Haggerty grounded out. Minnesota still led 1–0.

3rd Inning
Eflin worked around a two-out single by Castro by striking out Correa looking. Then Dillon Dingler opened our half with the swing that changed the mood, driving a triple into right. Garcia could not bring him in, but a Ryan Jeffers passed ball allowed Dingler to score. It was not the cleanest run, but September does not ask for style. It asks whether you use the opening. Game tied, 1–1.

4th Inning
Eflin gave us a clean top half, getting Wade, Riley, and Kepler in order. The bottom of the inning became the offensive hinge. Payton doubled to open it, Massey singled him home, and a second Jeffers passed ball moved Massey into scoring position. Meadows struck out, but Kyle Isbel singled through the infield and Massey scored. Two runs, three hits, and suddenly the Royals had flipped the game. Kansas City led 3–1.

5th Inning
Buxton singled to start the fifth, but Eflin got Rooker to roll into another double play, this one 5-4-3, and then struck out Bryson Stott. The Twins were getting just enough traffic to make every inning feel important, but not enough to turn the game back. Festa retired Garcia, Pasquantino, and Schneider in order in the bottom half.

6th Inning
Eflin gave us a clean sixth, striking out Jeffers before retiring Castro and Correa. The Royals did nothing in the bottom half, but at that point, the game had become about carrying the 3–1 lead into the bullpen without making the bullpen carry too much.

7th Inning
Minnesota got a one-out single from Riley, but Eflin kept the inning quiet by getting Kepler to fly out and striking out Buxton looking. Yuki Matsui took over for Minnesota and retired Isbel, Haggerty, and Dingler in order. The score stayed 3–1, and Eflin had earned the right to start the eighth.

8th Inning
Eflin struck out Rooker looking to begin the eighth, then Stott singled. That was the handoff point. John Schreiber came in and immediately had to manage traffic. Jeffers flew out, Castro singled to put two aboard, and Correa came up as the tying run. Schreiber won the moment, striking him out swinging and preserving the two-run lead. That at-bat was the game's final pressure point.

Kansas City went quietly in the bottom half against Matsui, leaving the ninth to Schreiber.

9th Inning
Schreiber finished it clean. Wade popped out, Emmanuel Rodriguez flew out as a pinch hitter, and Kepler grounded out to second. A 3–1 win. Not loud, not decorative, but exactly the kind of game a playoff chase needs from the top of the rotation.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 3, Twins 1
Royals (6 H, 0 E) | Twins (6 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Zach Eflin

Royals Notables: Eflin carried the night with 7.1 innings of one-run ball, 8 strikeouts, and only one walk. Dingler's third-inning triple helped produce the tying run. Payton doubled to open the fourth, Massey drove him in, and Isbel added the run-scoring single that gave the Royals breathing room.



Winning Pitcher: Zach Eflin, 13–6
Losing Pitcher: David Festa, 11–8
Save: John Schreiber, 1

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec          IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
Z. Eflin          W (13-6)      7.1    5    1    1    1    8    1    99   3.19
J. Schreiber      SV (1)        1.2    1    0    0    0    1    0    21   2.70

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

• Eflin pitched like the anchor we needed. After the rotation questions and the pressure of this stretch, 7.1 innings with 8 strikeouts is exactly what the top of the rotation is supposed to provide. The first-inning homer did not snowball, and that was the key.

• Schreiber earned the save in the real pressure pocket. He inherited a runner in the eighth, allowed one single, then struck out Correa with two aboard. That was not a routine save path. That was a leverage save.

• The offense did enough without being loud. Six hits, no homers, and only three runs, but Dingler's triple, Payton's double, Massey's RBI single, and Isbel's RBI single were enough because the pitching staff kept the game clean.

• Minnesota gave us help, and we took it. Jeffers' two passed balls mattered. Dingler scored on one in the third, and Massey advanced into scoring position on another in the fourth before Isbel cashed him in. In September, taking the free ninety feet is part of winning.

• The defense supported the pitching. Two double plays erased Minnesota traffic and kept Eflin from working uphill. That is the kind of clean support we need with every game carrying standings weight.

• This was the right first step against Minnesota. We needed to start this series by protecting the home field and keeping the Wild Card lane from tightening further. One win does not clear the traffic, but it keeps us moving.


Around the League

St. Louis shortstop Masyn Winn confirmed he is likely headed to the injured list with a strained oblique that could cost him 5–6 weeks. Winn has hit .277 with 10 home runs and 68 RBIs, so that is a significant September blow for the Cardinals.

The White Sox also lost Luis Severino for the season after doctors diagnosed a torn labrum, with an estimated 11-month recovery. Severino had made 30 relief appearances, recording a 4.65 ERA with 72 strikeouts in 81.1 innings.

In the KBO, Alex Kirilloff and Hyun-ki Son were disciplined after a bench-clearing brawl, with Kirilloff suspended for four games and Son for nine.

Down on the Royals' farm, the Columbia Fireflies gave the organization a banner moment by winning the Carolina League South Division with a 77–51 record, their first South title.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 142



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Saturday, September 13 • Game 2👑

The Royals survive a bullpen-draining, injury-marked marathon against Minnesota.

Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 70 degrees | Wind: Right to left at 11 mph | Attendance: 37,709 | First pitch: 6:10 PM CT
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

The momentum carried into the building this morning after last night’s win over a solid Minnesota club. Zach Eflin looked like the top-of-rotation version we needed, and John Schreiber finished like the veteran reliever he has always shown he can be. It was not a loud win, but it was steady — the kind that applies just enough pressure, takes just enough free ground, and lets the pitching staff hold the rope until the final out.

That is where we are now. Our wins do not need to be dominant or pretty. They need to be consistent. The division may still be a hard road with Cleveland and Detroit clogging the lanes, but the Wild Card race is alive, and every game against Minnesota carries direct traffic-control value. The bigger task is avoiding the injury gremlins, finishing September strong, and refusing to let one rough pocket turn into a slide.

Jason McLeod also closed his Peru trip with another long-range piece for the system: 16-year-old right-hander Robby Trevino from Lima. He is raw, as most international complex arms are, with very low scouting certainty and command that will need patient development, but the foundation is interesting: a 92–94 mph fastball, a promising slider, a curveball with standout future shape, and enough stamina to project as a future starter if the control comes along. The command questions are real, and walks may follow him until our pitching staff can smooth the delivery. For the front office, Trevino is not a near-term answer for this September race, but these are the kinds of scouting wins that keep the organization alive beneath the major-league stress. While the big club fights from inning to inning, the front office still has to keep planting arms.

Figure 1. Robby Trevino International Complex Profile — Peruvian Arm with a Breaking-Ball Foundation



Perspective: Robby Trevino's September 13 scouting profile gives the organization a first look at a newly discovered 16-year-old right-hander out of Lima, Peru, now assigned to the KC International Complex.


Minnesota Twins Series Snapshot

This was Game 2 of the three-game home set against Minnesota, and after taking the opener 3–1, we had a chance to lock up the series before Sunday. That mattered because Minnesota came into the weekend still visible in the Wild Card picture, and with Detroit pushing hard above us, the margin for letting direct opponents hang around is shrinking fast.


Series Matchup Board — Game 2

• LHP Jordan Montgomery vs. RHP Chris Paddack

Montgomery gave us 6 innings, allowing 7 hits and 3 earned runs with 1 walk and 8 strikeouts. It was not the complete-game command he showed in Houston, but it kept the game in reach and handed the bullpen a lead. His game score was 53, which fit the night: competitive, useful, but not clean enough to carry the whole thing.

Paddack worked 5.1 innings for Minnesota, allowing 6 hits, 4 earned runs, 1 walk, and 4 strikeouts. The Royals got to him in the third and fourth, then made Minnesota’s bullpen cover the long road once this game spilled into extra innings. By the end, both clubs had emptied too much from the cabinet.
________________________________________


Game Day Log — Royals vs. Twins (Game 2)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Montgomery opened clean, retiring Emmanuel Rodriguez, Willi Castro, and Royce Lewis in order. Paddack got a little help in the bottom half when Vinnie Pasquantino reached on a strikeout-passed-ball sequence, but Davis Schneider grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Scoreless after one, and both sides were still feeling for the edges.

2nd Inning
Minnesota put two aboard when LaMonte Wade Jr. walked and Austin Riley singled, but Montgomery struck out Max Kepler and Jair Camargo to strand them. Kansas City went quietly in the bottom half, and the early tone was clear: Montgomery had swing-and-miss, but Minnesota was going to make him work.

3rd Inning
The Twins broke through first. Bryson Stott struck out, but Rodriguez and Castro singled. Royce Lewis lifted a sacrifice fly to score Rodriguez, and Byron Buxton doubled in Castro to make it 2–0. Montgomery struck out Wade to stop the inning from getting bigger.

We answered immediately. Michael Massey doubled to open the bottom half, Sam Haggerty moved the inning along, and Kyle Isbel singled Massey home before stealing second. Garcia and Pasquantino could not bring Isbel in, but the deficit was cut to 2–1.

4th Inning
Montgomery gave us a needed quiet top half. Then the Royals’ offense grabbed the game. Schneider walked, Meadows singled, and Massey singled to bring Schneider home. Haggerty followed with a two-run single, scoring Meadows and Massey. Three runs in the inning, and Kansas City led 4–2. That was the first time the night felt like it might settle. It did not.

5th Inning
Minnesota pulled closer when Stott singled and Castro tripled him home with one out. Montgomery stranded Castro by striking out Lewis and getting Buxton to fly out. Schneider doubled with two outs in the bottom half, but Payton flew out, leaving the lead at 4–3.

6th Inning
Wade singled and stole second, but Montgomery worked around it with help from two strikeouts and a groundout. Paddack left after retiring Perez, and Ryan Pressly took over to finish the inning. The game was still 4–3, and we were entering bullpen territory with no room for soft contact mistakes.

7th Inning
Mason Thompson came in and put together a scoreless inning despite a Rodriguez single and a Royce Lewis walk. In the bottom half, Isbel doubled, stole third, and Garcia singled him home. That run mattered. It gave us a 5–3 lead and should have been enough runway for the late arms.

8th Inning
Thompson got Wade to ground out, then the injury gremlins found us. He developed abdominal pain and had to leave while pitching. Jacob Lopez came in cold and inherited a mess of urgency. Austin Riley singled, Brent Rooker walked, and Camargo walked to load the bases, but Lopez struck out Stott and Kala’i Rosario to escape. That was one of the best short-leash survival acts we have gotten all year. We did not add in the bottom half, and that opened the door for the ninth.

9th Inning
James McArthur came in to close, but the inning changed almost immediately. Willi Castro struck out, Royce Lewis reached on Schneider’s error, and Buxton struck out. With one out to go, McArthur needed the trainer. Out of caution, we pulled him and asked Noah Cameron to get the final out cold. Correa punished the moment, driving a two-run homer 424 feet to tie the game at 5–5. The save disappeared, and the night suddenly grew longer. We went quietly in the bottom half, and the game moved into extra innings.

10th Inning
Cameron handled the automatic runner cleanly, getting Rooker, Camargo, and Stott without a run. In the bottom half, Garcia started at second, and Christian Arroyo singled him to third. Garcia tried to score on the play but was thrown out at the plate by Buxton. Payton struck out, and the chance slipped. In a marathon game, that felt like one of those moments you wonder about later if the room gets quiet.

11th Inning
Minnesota took the lead when Rosario singled Stott to third and Castro lifted a sacrifice fly. Cameron struck out Lewis and Buxton to keep it at 6–5. The Royals answered. Payton began the inning at second, moved to third on Meadows’ flyout, and Massey singled him home. Tie game again, 6–6.

12th Inning
Cameron pushed into dangerous pitch-count territory. Correa flew out, then Huascar Brazoban entered with Buxton still as the automatic runner. Riley moved him over, and Rooker singled him home. Minnesota led 7–6.

Again, we answered. Haggerty began the inning at second, and Drew Waters lined a single to left. Haggerty scored to tie it 7–7, though Waters was caught stealing after the play. Garcia grounded out, Pasquantino struck out, and we went to the thirteenth.

13th Inning
Brazoban finally put a zero on the board. With Camargo placed at second, he got Stott to ground out, struck out Rosario, and got Castro to pop out. That was the inning that gave us the last chance.

Pasquantino started the bottom half at second. Arroyo struck out, and then Lane Thomas came off the bench. He has had a cold bat. He has also been one of those deadline-rental pieces we brought here because one swing in one game can still rewrite a night. He got a full-count pitch and lined it through the infield at 108.1 mph. Pasquantino scored. Royals win, 8–7.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 8, Twins 7
Royals (13 H, 1 E) | Twins (12 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Michael Massey

Royals Notables: Massey was the box-score leader, going 3-for-5 with a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs. Haggerty drove in 2 and scored once, Isbel doubled, drove in a run, and stole two bases, and Waters delivered the 12th-inning tying single. Thomas supplied the final blow as a pinch hitter in the 13th, sending the Royals home with a walk-off win.



Winning Pitcher: Huascar Brazoban, 3–0
Losing Pitcher: Jhoan Duran, 7–6
Blown Saves: Noah Cameron, 1; Jhoan Duran, 6

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec          IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
J. Montgomery                   6.0    7    3    3    1    8    0    97   3.99
M. Thompson       H (1)         1.1    1    0    0    1    0    0    25   2.70
J. Lopez          H (1)         0.2    1    0    0    2    2    0    21   2.80
J. McArthur       H (1)         0.2    0    1    0    0    2    0    10   1.88
N. Cameron        BS (1)        2.2    2    3    1    0    3    1    40   2.84
H. Brazoban       W (3-0)       1.2    1    0    0    0    1    0    24   5.56

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

Tonight, the major-league game became exactly what September has been for us all year: useful, painful, messy, and somehow still ours. The Twins lineup had already shown enough bite in the opener with Carlos Correa’s early homer, and tonight they made us pay with pressure across the middle and late innings. They did not go away when we built a lead. They did not go away when we answered in extras. But for the second straight night, we found just enough at the plate and just enough from the staff to keep the series in our hands.

• This win took a toll. Thirteen innings, six Kansas City pitchers, five relievers, and two pitching injuries on our side. Mason Thompson left with abdominal pain, and James McArthur needed the trainer with one out left in the ninth. That is a hard cost even on a winning night.

• Montgomery kept us in position. Six innings, 3 earned runs, 8 strikeouts. Not his cleanest start, but plenty good enough to hand the lead to the bullpen.

• Lopez’s eighth inning deserves credit. After Thompson left, Lopez loaded the bases but punched out Stott and Rosario to protect the 5–3 lead. That was a bend-without-breaking inning in a game that tried to break us multiple times.

• Cameron was put in an unfair spot and still had to wear the inning. He entered cold with one out left in the ninth and gave up Correa’s tying homer. Then he had to keep going into extras because the game would not let us off the hook.

• Brazoban gave us the close-out finish. He inherited a difficult 12th-inning setup, gave up the go-ahead run, then settled and posted the zero in the 13th that allowed the walk-off.

• Lane Thomas gets the manager’s Player of the Game vote. Massey earned the official honor, and he deserved it. But Thomas came off a cold bat, off the bench, with the game dragging into its fifth hour, and delivered the winning swing. That is why we brought him in.

• The ball fell right for us tonight. We survived missed chances, an error, injuries, a blown ninth, and three extra frames. It was a grind that looked a lot like our whole season — not clean, not easy, but still moving forward.


Around the League

Seattle’s Andrés Muñoz confirmed his season is over after suffering a damaged elbow ligament. Muñoz had recorded 25 saves with a 2.93 ERA and 83 strikeouts over 55.1 innings, a significant loss for the Mariners’ late-season bullpen structure.

Anthony Volpe had a huge night for the Yankees at Wrigley Field, collecting 5 hits in 6 at-bats as New York beat the Cubs, 11–10.

Elsewhere, Logan Gilbert authored the league’s headline performance with a no-hitter for Texas against the Angels, striking out 10 and walking 2 in a 1–0 win.

On the Royals’ international side, the Kansas City DSL Royals Ventura were eliminated by the Miami DSL Marlins in Round 2. Miami won the series 4–1 and advanced, with Gregory Mota earning MVP honors after hitting .333 and driving in 4 runs. It closes a strong developmental run, but also gives the front office another offseason file to sort through.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 143



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Sunday, September 14 • Game 3👑

We completed the Minnesota sweep to carry a four-game winning streak into Yankee Stadium.

Minnesota Twins at Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 78 degrees | Wind: In from center at 10 mph | Attendance: 37,839 | First pitch: 1:10 PM CT
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

The injuries and bullpen depth were my dominant concerns this morning. After last night's 13-inning grind, the win felt good, but the medical file did not. Mason Thompson's abdominal strain came back minor enough that he should be ready after today, so I am keeping him with us for the New York trip. James McArthur, unfortunately, came back with the same type of issue, and Pat Rose's report has him day-to-day for about a week before he is ready for another mound appearance. That is not ideal, but it is not season-ending either. He can still return before the Detroit series, which matters.

So, the transaction lane had to open again. McArthur heads back to Omaha for the short recovery window, Fernando Cruz comes up for Yankee Stadium, and because Noah Cameron threw a heavy workload last night, he stays behind while Anthony Veneziano gives us a fresh left-handed arm. That is September roster management in its least romantic form: count pitches, count injuries, count days, and keep the plane stocked with enough arms to survive the next series.

Then Zach Eflin's contract situation resurfaced on the desk. He reached out, reminded me of his earlier interest in an extension, and made it clear he is not thrilled that I have not yet committed to an offer. I understand that. He has earned the conversation. I am still not sure how far we can go before the offseason clarifies the budget picture, especially with Bobby Witt Jr.'s 2028 number compressing our future room. Eflin has pitched like a rotation anchor during the playoff chase, but with future payroll pressure building toward the Bobby Witt Jr. contract years, this is not a simple "pay the pitcher" decision.

If we move, the preferred path remains a shorter, front-loaded structure that rewards Eflin's value now without tightening the 2028 ceiling before the roster's next competitive window. I don't want the club to suffocate itself while trying to reward the right pitcher.

Figure 1. Zach Eflin Extension Demand — Ace Price Meets September Payroll Math



Perspective: Zach Eflin's September 14 extension screen puts the front-office question into hard numbers: a five-year, $131.2 million proposal with a $26.24 million average annual value, plus a player-option structure and award bonuses layered into the demand.

With Spencer Turnbull still not recovered in time, Brady Singer stepped into today's start. Lane Thomas got the right-field start as a reward for last night's walk-off swing, and Christian Arroyo started at third for Davis Schneider. The grind is not getting easier. But it is still manageable — as long as the arms keep answering.


Minnesota Twins Series Snapshot

This was the final game of a three-game home set against Minnesota, and the Royals had already secured the series by taking the first two. The opener was a clean 3–1 win behind Zach Eflin. Saturday became a five-hour survival test, an 8–7 walk-off in 13 innings that cost us bullpen depth and almost forced us to pay for the win twice.

That made this finale more than a sweep chance. It was a stabilizer game. Minnesota came in still trying to stay visible in the Wild Card picture, while Kansas City needed to protect its own lane before heading into Yankee Stadium. A loss would have softened the series win and left the bullpen strain hanging over the clubhouse. A win would carry us east with four straight victories and the sense that the club can still take care of business against the teams chasing from behind.


Series Matchup Board — Game 3

• RHP Brady Singer vs. RHP Joe Ryan

Singer gave us exactly what the day required. Seven innings, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 9 strikeouts, and 101 pitches, and he earned Player of the Game honors. He was not just a substitute for Turnbull. He was the reason the bullpen did not have to relive Saturday's marathon from the first inning on.

Ryan kept Minnesota competitive, but Kansas City clipped him with enough middle-inning damage to build the margin. He allowed 8 hits, 3 earned runs, and 2 home runs in 6.2 innings, striking out 4 without a walk. Pasquantino and Massey each got him for a solo shot, and Payton's two-out contact gave the lineup the other key run-scoring moments.
________________________________________

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

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Singer had to work under stress immediately. Carlos Correa walked with one out, Royce Lewis struck out, but Austin Riley beat out an infield single, and LaMonte Wade Jr. lined a run-scoring single through the middle. Minnesota led 1–0, with two still aboard. Singer got Byron Buxton to fly out, and that limited the inning before it had a chance to tilt.

The answer came quickly. Maikel Garcia singled, stole second, moved to third on Ryan's wild pitch, and scored when Mark Payton singled to left. Payton was thrown out trying to stretch the hit, but the run mattered more than the baserunning mistake. Game tied, 1–1.

2nd Inning
Singer allowed a Bryson Stott single but struck out Ryan Jeffers and got Emmanuel Rodriguez to fly out. Lane Thomas, rewarded with the start after last night's walk-off, singled in the bottom half, but he was caught stealing before Haggerty could finish the at-bat. Through two, the game was tied, and both teams had already run into outs on the bases.

3rd Inning
Minnesota threatened when Royce Lewis doubled with one out, but Singer sharpened. He struck out Riley and Wade Jr. swinging to strand Lewis and keep the score level. Kansas City went quietly in the bottom half. This was the inning where Singer started to look less like a replacement plan and more like the man driving the bus.

4th Inning
Singer posted his first clean inning, getting Buxton, Kepler, and Stott. Vinnie Pasquantino then opened the bottom half by launching a solo homer to right, his 19th of the season. One swing, 404 feet, and the Royals had their first lead at 2–1.

5th Inning
Singer stayed in rhythm, retiring Jeffers, Rodriguez, and Correa in order. Then Michael Massey added another bolt, driving a solo homer 421 feet to center-right, his 29th of the season. Lane Thomas followed with a double, but the inning ended there. Still, the lead had grown to 3–1, and the dugout had the breathing room it had been searching for.

6th Inning
Singer allowed a two-out single to Wade Jr., but Buxton flew out to end it. Mark Payton doubled in the bottom half with two outs, but Salvador Perez struck out swinging. The game stayed 3–1, and Singer continued to carry the staff through a day when we badly needed length.

7th Inning
Singer finished his afternoon by retiring Kepler, Stott, and Jeffers, including his ninth strikeout of the game. Massey singled in the bottom half, and Thomas flew out before Haggerty struck out. The lead was still only two, but Singer had given us seven innings and a chance to manage the final six outs with a bruised bullpen.

8th Inning
Justin Topa entered and got Rodriguez to pop out before striking out Correa after a long at-bat. Then the injury bug bit again. Topa left with an elbow injury, pending diagnosis, and Schreiber had to enter earlier than preferred. Royce Lewis greeted him with a solo homer to left, cutting the lead to 3–2. Riley singled behind it, but Schreiber struck out Wade Jr. to stop the inning there.

We answered with a needed insurance run. Pasquantino singled, Arroyo moved him over, and Payton lined a two-out single to center to score him. The Royals led 4–2. That hit carried more weight than it looked like on the page. After Minnesota cut the lead, the response put the game back into a safer shape.

9th Inning
Schreiber had to earn it. Buxton walked, Kepler struck out swinging, and Stott singled to put two aboard. Jeffers struck out looking, and Rodriguez struck out swinging to end it. The save was not clean, but it was earned. The Royals win, 4–2, and sweep Minnesota before heading to New York.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 4, Twins 2
Royals (10 H, 0 E) | Twins (8 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Brady Singer

Royals Notables: Singer powered the win with seven innings of one-run ball and 9 strikeouts. Pasquantino went 2-for-4 with his 19th home run, Massey went 2-for-3 with his 29th homer and 85th RBI, and Payton carried the situational bat with 3 hits and 2 RBIs.



Winning Pitcher: Brady Singer, 8–8
Losing Pitcher: Joe Ryan, 8–9
Hold: Justin Topa, 2
Save: John Schreiber, 2

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec          IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
B. Singer         W (8-8)       7.0    5    1    1    1    9    0   101   4.37
J. Topa           H (2)         0.2    0    0    0    0    1    0    14   5.23
J. Schreiber      SV (2)        1.1    3    1    1    1    4    1    32   3.18

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

• Singer made the alternative starter plan work. With Turnbull still down, Singer stepped in and gave us seven strong innings. That is exactly why I kept the rotation plan flexible rather than forcing a blistered starter into a bad spot.

• The sweep matters. Minnesota came in close enough to think it still had room in the race. We took all three, pushed our winning streak to four, and reached 81–63 before the New York road set.

• Massey continues to be a middle-order force. His 29th homer and 85th RBI keep him tied into the AL run-production picture, and he is giving the lineup real damage even without Bobby Witt Jr. available.

• Payton's two-out bat was the quiet separator. Three hits and 2 RBIs, including the first-inning answer and the eighth-inning insurance run. That is winning baseball from a lineup spot that does not always draw the headline.

• Topa's elbow injury is the next roster fire. The injury bug is becoming almost laughable in its timing. Topa left while pitching and is pending diagnosis, which means another call to Omaha is coming before we settle the Yankee Stadium bullpen map.

• Schreiber bent but closed it. He gave up the Lewis homer and had traffic in the ninth, but he struck out four over 1.1 innings and nailed down his second save. On a staff running thin, that finish mattered.

• We leave for New York with the right kind of momentum. The bullpen is bruised, the injury file is too active, and Eflin's extension question is now waiting in the office. But the club is winning. That makes every problem easier to carry.


Around the League

Philadelphia confirmed that reliever Penn Murfee will miss the rest of the season with a torn rotator cuff suffered on September 12. Murfee had posted a 2.66 ERA in 22 relief appearances, striking out 25 across 20.1 innings, so that is another late-season bullpen loss for a club trying to finish the year intact.

Toronto's postseason path officially closed as the Blue Jays were mathematically eliminated. After three straight playoff appearances, their season ends outside the race, another reminder that October is not promised by roster reputation or recent history.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 144



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Monday, September 15 • Game 1👑

The Royals arrive in New York with four straight wins, but three Kansas City errors turn the opener into a loss.

Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees | Yankee Stadium
Weather: Cloudy, 72 degrees | Wind: In from center at 12 mph | Attendance: 30,652 | First pitch: 7:05 PM ET
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

The morning began with the kind of trainer update that changes the entire road-trip board. Pat Rose confirmed that Justin Topa's elbow injury was worse than we hoped: a partially torn ulnar collateral ligament, Tommy John surgery, and roughly 8–9 months out. That ends his season after 30 relief appearances, 6 saves, 43 innings, 41 strikeouts, and a 5.23 ERA. In September, every arm matters. Losing one now is not just a transaction; it is another leak in a bullpen we have been patching almost daily.

With Topa moving to the 60-day injured list and coming off the secondary roster, I called Brennan Bernardino back up to fill the bullpen slot. The constant Kansas City–Omaha shuttle has started to create gaps below us, too, so we had to shuffle a few arms through the Double-A and Quad Cities levels just to keep the organization properly staffed. That is the part of September roster management people do not see: the big-league injury shows up first, but the tremor runs all the way down the ladder.

The scouting file kept moving, too. Jason McLeod's look into Argentina brought us Enrique Gonzalez, a 6-foot-4 right-hander now assigned to the international complex.

Figure 1. Enrique Gonzalez International Complex Profile — Argentine Depth Arm with Work-Ethic Projection



Perspective: Enrique Gonzalez's September 15 scouting profile gives the organization a first look at a 16-year-old right-hander from Buenos Aires, now assigned to the KC International Complex.

The profile is limited — current scouting certainty is very low and shows clear limitations — modest stuff, developing control, flyball tendencies, and home-run risk — but his 6-foot-4 frame, strong stamina, and high work ethic give the player development staff enough to work with. For the front office, Gonzalez is not yet a priority-track arm, but he is another long-range pitching lottery ticket, added as the major-league club tries to keep the September bullpen from running out of bodies.

That was the larger frame coming into tonight: get through New York, avoid more damage, and keep the winning momentum from the Minnesota sweep alive. Hunter Brown had the ball, the bullpen was reinforced, and the opponent on paper was beatable. But season spoilers love drama, especially in a hitter-friendly park.


New York Yankees Series Snapshot

We opened a three-game road series at Yankee Stadium, a hitter-friendly ballpark with a listed capacity of 52,325. The Yankees entered at 62–81, fourth in the AL East and 25 games behind the division lead. Their offense had scored 639 runs, 11th in the American League, and batted .244, also 11th. Their pitching had been the bigger problem: 729 runs allowed, 14th in the AL, with a 5.09 starters’ ERA, 13th, and a 4.60 bullpen ERA, 9th. Against us, they were 0–4 coming into this series.

The projected series board had us lined up this way:

RHP Hunter Brown vs. RHP Brayan Bello
RHP Luinder Avila vs. RHP Chase Hampton
RHP Zach Eflin vs. RHP Luis Gil

The Yankees may be out of the race, but the top of their roster still carries real danger: Aaron Judge, Anthony Volpe, Brayan Bello, Clay Holmes, and Gerrit Cole still give the club name-brand weight.


Series Matchup Board — Game 1

• RHP Hunter Brown — 5–5, 4.96 ERA entering the series vs. RHP Brayan Bello — 9–9, 4.57 ERA entering the series

Brown's line had a workable spine, but too much loud contact and insufficient defensive support around it: 6 innings, 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned, 1 walk, 6 strikeouts, and 2 home runs allowed. He gave up the two-run shot to Peraza and the solo blast to Judge in the third, and a fifth-innings error behind him helped New York tack on the run that stretched the deficit back to two.

Bello gave New York five innings, holding us to two runs on four hits, walking one, and striking out six. He was not untouchable — we got to him in the fourth — but after that inning, the Yankee bullpen slammed the door. Ian Hamilton finished the final 2.2 innings without allowing a hit and struck out five.
________________________________________

Game Day Log — Royals vs. Yankees (Game 1)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Bello came out with strikeout feel, getting Maikel Garcia looking and Vinnie Pasquantino swinging before Davis Schneider worked a walk. Mark Payton flew out, and the first chance ended quietly. Brown opened well enough, getting Jasson Domínguez before Peraza singled through the infield. Anthony Volpe lined out and Aaron Judge struck out, so the first inning stayed clean.

2nd Inning
Austin Meadows reached on an infield single, but Kyle Isbel grounded into a double play, wiping out the inning before it could develop. Brown worked around the first defensive crack of the night in the bottom half. Everson Pereira walked, Gleyber Torres reached on Garcia’s error, and two were aboard, but Brown struck out Matt Chapman and Andrew Vaughn before getting J.T. Realmuto to ground out. No runs, but the warning light was already blinking.

3rd Inning
Kansas City went in order in the top half, and New York made the first real move. Domínguez singled to open the inning, and Peraza jumped a pitch for a two-run homer to center, 414 feet. One batter later, Judge drove a solo shot 395 feet. Brown recovered to get the next three, but the damage had landed quickly. Yankees led 3–0.

4th Inning
We answered with the only clean offensive burst of the night. Pasquantino doubled to start the inning, Schneider lined out, and Payton doubled him home. Bello uncorked a wild pitch to move Payton to third, and Meadows singled him in. The inning ended with Isbel striking out, but the game was back within reach at 3–2.
Brown gave up a leadoff double to Torres in the bottom half but stranded him by retiring Vaughn, Realmuto, and Domínguez. At that point, the game still had room for us to turn it.

5th Inning
Bello retired Haggerty, Dingler, and Garcia in order, and then New York added one in the bottom half with help from our gloves. Peraza singled again, Volpe reached on Schneider’s error, and after Brown struck out Judge and Pereira, Chapman singled Peraza home. Brown got Torres to force the runner at second, but the Yankees had pushed it to 4–2. That run mattered because it kept us from playing for one swing.

6th Inning
Clarke Schmidt walked Pasquantino to start the sixth, but Schneider flew out and Payton grounded into a double play. Brown then gave us his final clean inning, retiring Vaughn, Realmuto, and Domínguez in order. Six innings, four runs, and still technically reachable. But the offense had already begun to disappear.

7th Inning
Massey walked to open the seventh, but he was caught stealing before Meadows singled. Isbel walked, and Haggerty was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with two outs after Ian Hamilton entered. The game sat there for us — one swing, one single, one crack in a spoiler’s bullpen. Instead, Dingler struck out and Garcia struck out, leaving three aboard. That was the last real chance. Ryan Walker took the bottom half and immediately ran into the night’s theme. Peraza singled again, Volpe struck out, and Judge reached on Massey’s error. Pereira singled to load the bases, and Chapman singled home two. Isbel’s throw helped cut down the trailing runner at third, but the inning still moved the Yankees ahead 6–2.

8th Inning
Hamilton carved through the heart of our order, retiring Pasquantino, Schneider, and Payton with two strikeouts. Fernando Cruz came in for the bottom half and struck out Vaughn, but Realmuto singled, stole second, and came home when Volpe singled after Peraza’s fifth hit of the night. Cruz struck out Judge to end it, but New York had stretched the lead to 7–2.

9th Inning
The bench got the final look, with Christian Arroyo, Lane Thomas, and Drew Waters all pinch-hitting. Hamilton retired all three, striking out Waters to end it. The four-game winning streak stopped in the Bronx. Final: Yankees 7, Royals 2.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 2, Yankees 7
Royals (5 H, 3 E) | Yankees (13 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Oswald Peraza. His hitting heroics included a 5-for-5 day. He singled in the 1st, hit a two-run home run off Hunter Brown in the 3rd, singled in the 5th, singled in the 7th, and singled in the 8th. This season, Peraza is batting .243 with 7 home runs. His total includes 45 RBIs and 62 runs scored.

Royals Notables: Meadows was the only steady bat, going 3-for-3 with an RBI. Pasquantino and Payton each doubled in the fourth, and Payton scored on Meadows' single.



Winning Pitcher: Brayan Bello, 10–9
Losing Pitcher: Hunter Brown, 5–6
Save: Ian Hamilton, 1

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec           IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
H. Brown          L (5-6)        6.0    7    4    3    1    6    2    96   4.92
R. Walker                        1.0    3    2    0    0    2    0    23   1.89
F. Cruz                          1.0    3    1    1    0    3    0    25   5.87

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

Tonight, New York played like a club with nothing to lose and plenty left to prove, a true spoiler agent at this late-season stage.

• New York played spoiler baseball exactly how I feared. The Yankees are not in our race, but that does not make them harmless. Tonight, they played loose, punished mistakes, and reminded us that expected wins still have to be earned.

• The winning streak ends at four. We came into New York with momentum after the Minnesota sweep, but we did not carry clean baseball into the opener. Five hits and three errors are not a winning road formula.

• Topa's injury changes the bullpen map. The partially torn UCL and Tommy John timeline take him out of every September and postseason scenario. Bernardino is up, but the bullpen is now operating without one more late-inning option.

• Brown was not sharp enough, but the defense made his night harder. His six innings gave us length, but two homers and three unearned-related pressure pockets kept the Yankees in control. The official line shows only three earned runs, but the game felt messier than that.

• The three errors cannot travel with us. Garcia, Schneider, and Massey each had one. In a September chase, that is the kind of defensive leakage that turns a beatable opponent into a runaway.

• Meadows gave us the one bright offensive line. Three hits and the fourth-inning RBI. With the lineup quiet and Bobby Witt Jr. still unavailable, we need any bat willing to carry pressure contact.

• The seventh inning was the missed turn. Bases loaded, two outs, down 4–2 — and Hamilton struck out Dingler and Garcia. That was our last chance to put the game back into the dugout.
________________________________________

Around the League

The updated MLB power rankings still show Kansas City in a strong league position despite the loss, sitting fourth overall with an upward trend, behind Arizona, St. Louis, and Detroit. Cleveland, meanwhile, has slid to 14th, with a downward trend that keeps the broader Central picture strange: the standings remain tight, but the momentum board is shifting in more than one direction.

Here are the current team power rankings for Major League Baseball:

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Arizona Diamondbacks (116.0, o)
2) St. Louis Cardinals (115.4, o)
3) Detroit Tigers (112.3, o)
4) Kansas City Royals (111.3, ++)
5) Tampa Bay Rays (110.4, -)
6) San Francisco Giants (105.3, ++)
7) Texas Rangers (100.3, ++)
8) Atlanta Braves (98.4, ++)
9) Cincinnati Reds (98.1, +)
10) Milwaukee Brewers (97.8, ++)
11) Boston Red Sox (96.1, ++)
12) Pittsburgh Pirates (92.7, -)
13) Philadelphia Phillies (91.4, --)
14) Cleveland Guardians (91.4, --)
15) Baltimore Orioles (90.8, --)
16) San Diego Padres (87.5, --)
17) Minnesota Twins (87.3, --)
18) Los Angeles Dodgers (83.4, ++)
19) Oakland Athletics (83.2, -)
20) New York Mets (82.4, ++)
21) Seattle Mariners (82.2, --)
22) Chicago Cubs (82.2, --)
23) New York Yankees (80.1, +)
24) Chicago White Sox (78.9, --)
25) Los Angeles Angels (78.4, --)
26) Houston Astros (73.4, o)
27) Miami Marlins (73.1, +)
28) Toronto Blue Jays (71.0, -)
29) Washington Nationals (66.8, +)
30) Colorado Rockies (60.3, --)

Austin Riley earned American League Player of the Week after hitting .400 with 4 home runs and 10 RBIs, while Atlanta's Ronald Acuña Jr. took the National League honor after batting .450 with 4 home runs and 8 RBIs. Acuña's season remains massive, with a .335 average, 51 home runs, and a .414 on-base percentage.

Inside the Royals system, Ariel Almonte earned Texas League Player of the Week after hitting .364 with 5 home runs and 11 RBIs for Northwest Arkansas. He now has 8 homers and 19 RBIs through 12 games, giving the front office another player development thread worth watching as the big-league club fights through September.

San Francisco also lost Frankie Montas for the rest of the season with a torn meniscus. Montas had made five starts, going 2–3 with a 4.45 ERA, another reminder that the injury column does not care whether a team is contending, fading, or simply trying to get to the finish line.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 145



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Tuesday, September 16 • Game 2👑

The Royals strand early chances and are shut out.

Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees | Yankee Stadium
Weather: Cloudy, 65 degrees | Wind: In from right at 12 mph | Attendance: 29,330 | First pitch: 7:05 PM ET
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

This game will humble you. Not once, not occasionally, but all the time — across a season, across a week, across one road trip, and sometimes across one decision you thought was going to make the club stronger. That is the labor-of-love part of this job. You endure it for months, and by mid-September, it becomes harder to explain why, except that the season is still alive, the standings are still asking questions, and the clubhouse still needs somebody to keep balancing the front office file with the dugout heartbeat.

Last night was deflating. We came into Yankee Stadium with a four-game winning streak, a 4-0 record against them this season, and the good feeling from sweeping Minnesota, then the Yankees did what they always seem to do to us, regardless of their record: they found a way to beat us, cut the momentum, and make the room feel heavier than it should. I truly dislike them. Not because of the uniform alone, but because they have a way of turning expected wins into traps.

Tonight was supposed to be the response. Luinder Avila had plenty of rest, and I wanted length from him so the bullpen could stay mostly quiet after the recent injury churn. He has been one of the real developmental wins of this season — strong against both sides, calm under pressure, and now very much in my mind as part of our future rotation picture while Ragans remains a long way from returning.

New York Yankees Series Snapshot

This was Game 2 of the three-game set at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees entered the series buried in the AL East, but they have not played like a club willing to quietly fold against us. They beat us 7–2 in the opener behind Oswald Peraza's five-hit night, and tonight they leaned into the other way to spoil a road series: pitching, defense, and one two-out hit.

The projected board still had us lined up with Hunter Brown, Luinder Avila, and Zach Eflin for the series, but after dropping the first two games, the math changes. Tomorrow is no longer a comfortable getaway day to take the series. It is a salvage game. We came here needing to get through New York and Pittsburgh without leaking ground before Detroit.


Series Matchup Board — Game 2

• RHP Luinder Avila vs. RHP Chase Hampton

Avila deserved a better line in the win-loss column. He went 6.1 innings, allowed only 2 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, and struck out 7 on 96 pitches. His game score was 66, and for six innings, he looked like the arm controlling the night. The damage came in the seventh after back-to-back walks to Everson Pereira and Matt Chapman, with Brennan Bernardino entering and Giancarlo Stanton delivering the two-run single that decided the game.

Chase Hampton gave New York 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing 5 hits and 2 walks with 3 strikeouts. Luis Gil followed with 1.2 scoreless frames, and Clay Holmes closed the ninth for his 32nd save. We had traffic early, but Hampton kept forcing soft outs, double plays, and fly balls to the wrong part of the park.
________________________________________

Game Day Log — Royals vs. Yankees (Game 2)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
We had the first chance of the night and could not take it. Maikel Garcia opened with a double, and Mark Payton walked with two outs. Hampton then threw a wild pitch, moving Garcia to third and Payton to second, but Salvador Perez flew out to center. Two runners in scoring position, no runs. That was the first warning that the night might turn into a ledger of missed opportunities. Avila answered with a clean bottom half, retiring Jasson Domínguez, Oswald Peraza, and Anthony Volpe, striking out Volpe to end it. After Peraza punished us in Game 1, getting him quiet early mattered.

2nd Inning
Austin Meadows singled and stole second, then moved to third on Haggerty's groundout. Drew Waters popped out, and another scoring chance went unused. Avila kept rolling in the bottom half, striking out Aaron Judge looking and Matt Chapman swinging around a Pereira groundout. Scoreless, but already uncomfortable.

3rd Inning
Pasquantino singled with one out, but Schneider grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. That erased another possible lane before it opened. Avila hit J.T. Realmuto with two outs in the bottom half, but Domínguez grounded out, and the Yankees remained hitless through three.

4th Inning
We put two more aboard when Payton walked, and Perez singled. Meadows then grounded into a 4-6-3 double play, moving Payton to third but clearing the inning's pressure, and Massey grounded out. That one hurt. In a tight road game, a double play with two aboard feels like a door closing louder than the box score shows. Avila struck out Peraza and Volpe in a clean bottom half. Four scoreless innings from the starter, and still nothing to show for it offensively.

5th Inning
Hampton finally found a clean inning against the bottom of the order, retiring Haggerty, Waters, and Garcia. New York got its first real push in the bottom half when Chapman singled, and Jake Fraley reached on an infield hit. Avila struck out Stanton and got Realmuto to ground out, stranding two. It was the kind of inning that reminds you how thin the line is when your offense has not scored.

6th Inning
We went quietly, with Schneider and Payton striking out to finish the top half. Avila gave us another clean inning, getting Domínguez, Peraza, and Volpe. Through six, he had allowed only two hits and no runs. The game was sitting right there, begging us to claim it.

7th Inning
Perez led off with a single, but Meadows flew out. Luis Gil entered, and Massey forced Perez at second. Haggerty walked, putting two aboard, but Waters grounded out. Again: traffic, no payoff.

Then the game turned. Avila got Judge to pop out, then walked Pereira and Chapman. I went to Brennan Bernardino to get the left-on-left matchup with Fraley, and he did his job on the first batter, moving the runners over with a groundout but getting the out. Stanton then hit a hard groundball single at 110 mph, scoring both runners. Realmuto followed with a single, and Waters threw Stanton out at the plate to prevent a third run, but the damage had already landed. The Yankees led 2–0.

8th Inning
We tried to change the look. Devin Mann pinch-hit for Pasquantino, and Christian Arroyo hit for Schneider, but Luis Gil retired Garcia, Mann, and Arroyo in order. Bernardino gave us a clean bottom half, retiring Domínguez, Peraza, and Volpe. The pitching staff kept the game within one swing. The bats never found that swing.

9th Inning
Clay Holmes entered and closed it. Payton grounded out, Perez grounded out, and Lane Thomas singled as a pinch hitter to keep the door barely open. Massey struck out swinging to end it. Final: Yankees 2, Royals 0. Six hits, three walks, seven left on base, and not one run.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 0, Yankees 2
Royals (6 H, 0 E) | Yankees (4 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Chase Hampton

Royals Notables: Our offense had chances: Garcia doubled to open the game, Meadows singled and stole second in the second, Pasquantino singled in the third, Perez singled in the fourth and seventh, and Thomas added a ninth-inning pinch-hit single. But the Royals grounded into two double plays and left seven on base.



Winning Pitcher: Luis Gil, 4–4
Losing Pitcher: Luinder Avila, 4–7
Save: Clay Holmes, 32

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec           IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
L. Avila          L (4-7)        6.1    2    2    2    2    7    0    96   3.86
B. Bernardino                    1.2    2    0    0    0    1    0    24   4.71

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

We are now trying to avoid a sweep in a building that keeps finding new ways to irritate us.

• Avila deserved a win. He gave us 6.1 innings of two-hit baseball before the seventh-inning walks caught up to him. That is a future-rotation outing, even if the loss attaches to his name.

• The offense wasted too many early chances. Garcia’s leadoff double in the first and Meadows reaching third in the second should have produced at least one run. In a 2–0 loss, those empty innings become the story.

• Double plays killed the middle innings. Schneider grounded into one in the third, and Meadows grounded into another in the fourth. Both came with runners aboard, both helped Hampton breathe, and both kept the Yankees from having to chase us.

• Bernardino did not get the bailout. He entered with two on, one out, and gave up the Stanton single after getting Fraley. Both inherited runners scored, which made the box score look cleaner for New York than it felt from our dugout.

• Waters saved a run with the throw home. Stanton’s single could have turned into a three-run inning, but Waters cut down the trailing runner at the plate. In a shutout loss it gets buried, but that was a strong defensive play.

• The Yankees have taken the series. That is the part that stings. We came here expecting to handle business, and now tomorrow is about avoiding the sweep before we move toward Pittsburgh and the bigger Detroit checkpoint.

• This was a standings-danger loss, not just a quiet offensive night. New York is playing spoiler baseball, and we have let them do it twice. That cannot become a road-trip theme.


Around the League

Detroit took a bullpen hit of its own, with closer Keider Montero ruled out for the season due to a torn back muscle. Montero had 8 saves, 101 strikeouts, and 47 walks over 100 innings with a 4.68 ERA and an 8–8 record. With Detroit directly tied into our September pressure lane, that loss could matter in the final stretch.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 146



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Wednesday, September 17 • Game 3👑

We headed toward Pittsburgh with more questions than comfort.

Kansas City Royals at New York Yankees | Yankee Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 67 degrees | Wind: In from right at 12 mph | Attendance: 29,390 | First pitch: 7:05 PM ET
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

After last night's loss, I felt the season slipping in a way I did not want to admit. We still have Detroit, less than a week away, and they are right beside us in the AL Central Wild Card race, refusing to make this easy. What bothered me most was not just losing to New York. It was losing to a team that has long since fallen out of any realistic hope of reaching .500, while we are the club supposedly fighting for October. That is the kind of mismatch that only looks safe on paper. On the field, it becomes a trap.

The schedule is not doing us any favors either. The season's close is giving us more nights in hotels than in our own beds, and the road-heavy finish is pressuring a roster that is already losing bullpen pieces and absorbing one medical update after another. Tonight needed to be a win, if only to save face, find our footing, and give the clubhouse one clean breath before the off day and the trip to Pittsburgh. That series has a spoiler written all over it, too, and we cannot afford to look past anyone before Detroit comes to Kauffman.

Zach Eflin had the start, and it carried more weight than a normal turn. This was his 30th appearance of the season, another data point in the decision I have been weighing from both chairs: whether he belongs in the long-term rotation picture and how far the front office should go in extension talks. He has earned that conversation. He has also been expensive enough, old enough, and close enough to future payroll pressure that the numbers cannot be handled emotionally. Then, five pitches into the night, the whole question changed shape.

New York Yankees Series Snapshot

This was Game 3 of the three-game set at Yankee Stadium, and we had already lost the series. Game 1 was a 7–2 loss built around Oswald Peraza's five-hit night and our own defensive sloppiness. Game 2 was worse in a quieter way: a 2–0 shutout where Luinder Avila deserved support and got none. That left the finale as a salvage game, and even that word felt too small by first pitch.

New York entered the series as a spoiler club, and they played exactly that role. They did not need to be the better team over six months. They only needed to be sharper than us over three nights. In this series, they pitched better, defended cleanly, and found the one or two swings needed to turn tight games into losses for us. The Yankees have now run their winning streak to five straight, and we walk out having been swept in a building where we expected to handle business.


Series Matchup Board — Game 3

• RHP Zach Eflin vs. RHP Clarke Schmidt

This matchup never became the start we planned. Eflin faced only one batter, walked Jasson Domínguez on five pitches, and left injured while pitching. The box score charged him with the loss after that runner scored, leaving his official line at 0.0 innings, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 5 pitches, and a 3.24 ERA.

Clarke Schmidt gave New York the stability we never had a chance to get from our starter. He threw 5 scoreless innings, allowed 2 hits, walked nobody, and struck out 4. His game score was 67, and he earned Player of the Game honors. After that, Scott Effross, Liam Hendriks, and Clay Holmes carried the lead home, with Holmes earning his 33rd save.

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

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Maikel Garcia opened the night with a single and stole second, giving us the kind of first-inning pressure we needed after being shut out the night before. But Pasquantino flew out, Schneider struck out, and Payton struck out. Another runner in scoring position, another empty inning.

Then the night tilted fast. Eflin walked Domínguez on five pitches and had to leave injured. Anthony Veneziano came in cold, and New York moved the runner over before Aaron Judge singled him home. Veneziano walked Pereira, then struck out Chapman to stop it at one run. The Yankees led 1–0, but the score was not the real damage. The real damage was Eflin walking off the mound before the game had even started breathing.

2nd Inning
Schmidt retired Perez, Meadows, and Massey in order. Veneziano worked through trouble in the bottom half. Andrew Vaughn walked, Ben Rice was hit by a pitch, and Peraza later singled to load the bases. Veneziano struck out Stanton and Volpe, then got through the inning without another run. It was not clean, but it kept us close.

3rd Inning
The bottom of our order went quietly, and Turnbull took over in the bottom half. He immediately had traffic with Judge walking and Pereira singling, but Matt Chapman lined out and Vaughn grounded into a double play. One of the few clean defensive moments of the series came at the right time. The game stayed 1–0.

4th Inning
Pasquantino singled to open the fourth, but Schneider grounded into a 5-4-3 double play and Payton popped out. That double play felt like the Yankees series in miniature: a possible lane, quickly erased. New York added on with two outs. Domínguez tripled, and Peraza singled him home. After Peraza’s Game 1 destruction, even his smaller hits felt loud. Yankees led 2–0.

5th Inning
Schmidt handled Perez, Meadows, and Massey without issue in the top half. Turnbull then gave up a solo homer to Everson Pereira, a 425-foot shot, and New York moved ahead 3–0. Chapman walked and stole second, but Turnbull limited the damage there.

6th Inning
Scott Effross entered for New York and retired Haggerty, Isbel, and Garcia, striking out the last two. Huascar Brazoban came in for us and gave the bullpen exactly what it needed after the emergency relay: a clean inning with two strikeouts. Ben Rice and Domínguez went down swinging, and Peraza lined out.

7th Inning
We went down quietly again: Pasquantino grounded out, Schneider struck out, and Payton flew out. Brazoban walked Volpe to open the bottom half, but Judge grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and Pereira grounded out. It stayed 3–0, but the offense had not shown enough pulse to make that feel close.

8th Inning
Finally, we found a crack. Lane Thomas pinch-hit for Meadows and singled. He stole second, and Massey doubled him home to make it 3–1. Haggerty walked, and suddenly the tying run was aboard with one out. New York went to Liam Hendriks, and I went to Drew Waters. Waters hit the ball hard, but it turned into a 3-6-3 double play. The rally ended right there. That was the last real chance, and it died in the same way too many innings died this series. Brazoban gave us another clean bottom half, finishing three scoreless innings of emergency work. That mattered, even in a loss.

9th Inning
Clay Holmes closed it. Garcia lined out, Pasquantino flew out, and Christian Arroyo singled after a long at-bat to keep the inning alive. Payton grounded out to end it. Final: Yankees 3, Royals 1. Series swept. No way to soften that one.

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Final

Royals 1, Yankees 3
Royals (5 H, 0 E) | Yankees (6 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Clarke Schmidt

Notable Royals: Kansas City's lone run came in the eighth, when Lane Thomas singled, stole second, and scored on Michael Massey's 24th double. Garcia and Thomas each stole a base, but the Royals grounded into two double plays and left the tying opportunity on the field in the eighth.



Winning Pitcher: Clarke Schmidt, 5–3
Losing Pitcher: Zach Eflin, 13–7
Save: Clay Holmes, 33

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec          IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
Z. Eflin          L (13-7)      0.0    0    1    1    1    0    0     5   3.24
A. Veneziano                    2.0    2    0    0    2    4    0    52  12.46
S. Turnbull                     3.0    4    2    2    2    1    1    57   3.88
H. Brazoban                     3.0    0    0    0    1    2    0    29   5.11

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Front Office Note / Takeaways

• Eflin's injury is the whole story tonight. Five pitches, one walk, and an early exit with a shoulder diagnosis pending. I was already weighing his extension future, and then baseball dropped the cruelest possible reminder onto the desk: the biggest decisions can change before the inning even ends.

• The extension question is frozen until the medical report clears. If this is minor, we exhale and reassess. If it is serious, the hesitation may have saved us from tying up major money in an arm headed toward the long-term injured list.

• Veneziano and Brazoban kept the game playable. Veneziano inherited the opening mess and limited damage across two innings, while Brazoban gave us three scoreless innings late. In a bullpen week defined by injury churn, that mattered.

• Turnbull absorbed the middle, but the Yankees found enough. Three innings, two runs, including Pereira's solo homer. He helped bridge the emergency start, but the offense never gave him room to operate.

• The offense has become a serious road concern. One run tonight after being shut out yesterday. Five hits in each of Games 1 and 3, six in Game 2, and not nearly enough pressure with runners aboard.

• The eighth inning was the missed comeback. Thomas and Massey finally sparked the dugout, but Waters' double play ended the threat. That one swing captured the series: close enough to see the lane, not clean enough to drive through it.

• This series was a manager's nightmare. We arrived with momentum, lost three straight to a spoiler, and may have lost one of our most important rotation arms. This game is fundamentally cruel. Just when the formula looks stable, it gets exposed, torn apart, and tossed into the fire.


Around the League

No major around-the-league item was included in the September 17 notice, which feels fitting in its own way. Tonight, the league could wait. The Royals' concern starts and ends with Zach Eflin's shoulder, the sweep in New York, and the urgent need to reset before Pittsburgh.
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👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 147



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Friday, September 19 • Game 1👑

Kansas City patches the rotation, but Pittsburgh walks it off in the ninth.

Kansas City Royals at Pittsburgh Pirates | PNC Park
Weather: Clear skies, 55 degrees | Wind: Out to center at 10 mph | Attendance: 23,661 | First pitch: 6:40 PM ET
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

Pat Rose delivered the report this morning, and it landed about as heavily as expected: Zach Eflin has shoulder inflammation and will miss roughly two to three months. That means the 60-day injured list, no return this season, and a realistic target of 2026 after rehab, preseason work, and spring training buildup. It is not Tommy John. It is not the Cole Ragans-level disaster that turns a whole plan into ashes. But that almost makes the decision harder. He is not broken beyond use. He is not clearly safe either.

That leaves the front office chair in a bind. Extend him, and he could return as the same stabilizing arm who helped carry us through this playoff chase. Pass on him, and he could give that same season to someone else, maybe even help another club reach the big show while we regret letting him walk. But pay him, and the shoulder goes again, and suddenly we are carrying a major contract with no return on the back end. These are the decisions you know might come, but you still hope the baseball gods leave them for winter. They did not. They dropped this one on my desk at crunch time.

So, the rotation had to be rebuilt in real time. Montgomery, Singer, Brown, and Avila are now the main pieces, with Turnbull holding swingman value. Alec Marsh gets the first call as the emergency swingman option from Omaha, while Anthony Veneziano goes down, and Noah Cameron comes back up as a third left-handed relief arm. I am also reducing starter pitch counts and innings where possible, trying to buy fatigue recovery and injury mitigation without handing games away. With the inconsistencies in the bullpen though, it feels like trying to nail jelly to a wall, but that is September roster management right now.





The lineup is not clean either. Drew Waters and Salvy have both been fighting it, but my confidence has not vanished. We will keep adjusting the batting order with Paul Hoover, looking for the right BA/OBP flow and trying to keep innings moving. Meanwhile, rookie-ball season is ending, and coaching changes are beginning below the surface. Pimental is out as ACL pitching coach, and Chris Rayborn has a preliminary two-year offer on the table. Even while the major-league club is trying to survive the week, the system still has to be shaped for the next one.

Tonight, though, was about stopping the skid. We left New York, swept and wounded. Pittsburgh was supposed to be the place to steady the ship.

Pittsburgh Pirates Series Snapshot

We opened a three-game road series at PNC Park, a pitcher-friendly park with a listed capacity of 38,362. Pittsburgh entered at 69–77, fifth in the NL Central and 20 games back. Their offense had scored 668 runs, 10th in the National League, with a .249 batting average ranking 9th. Their run prevention profile was middle of the pack: 707 runs allowed, 8th in the NL, a 4.56 starters’ ERA ranked 9th, and a 4.36 bullpen ERA ranked 5th.

The projected series board opened with a heavyweight matchup and two more tests behind it:

LHP Jordan Montgomery vs. RHP Paul Skenes
RHP Brady Singer vs. RHP Kyle Nicolas
RHP Hunter Brown vs. RHP Mitch Keller

Pittsburgh's top group still starts with Skenes, and that mattered tonight. Bryan Reynolds, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Jack Suwinski, and Oneil Cruz give them enough punch to spoil a road series, and Cruz wasted no time reminding us of that.
________________________________________


Series Matchup Board — Game 1

• LHP Jordan Montgomery — 15–8, 3.99 ERA entering the series vs. RHP Paul Skenes — 8–10, 3.73 ERA entering the series

Montgomery did not have his Houston finish in this one. He worked 4 innings, allowed 6 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, struck out 6, and gave up the first-inning homer to Oneil Cruz. The strikeout count was there, but the traffic, balk, wild pitch, and fourth-inning damage put us behind early enough that the offense had to chase.

Skenes gave Pittsburgh the cleaner start, even if we made him work. He went 6 innings, allowed 7 hits and 1 earned run, walked 2, struck out 4, and gave up Michael Massey's solo homer. The Pirates' bullpen nearly let it slip when Ian Gibaut surrendered the seventh-inning game-tying homer to Christian Arroyo, but Cy Nielson stabilized the final 2.1 innings and earned the win after Pittsburgh's walk-off.


Game Day Log — Royals vs. Pirates (Game 1)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Skenes gave us an early opening when Davis Schneider singled and advanced to second on a wild pitch, but Mark Payton grounded out, and the chance died. Montgomery's first inning started worse. Oneil Cruz got ahead and drove a solo homer to right, only 346 feet but enough in PNC's shape to put Pittsburgh ahead 1–0. Termarr Johnson followed with a bunt single, but Montgomery struck out Bryan Reynolds, Max Wagner, and Jack Suwinski in order. Damage was limited, but the Pirates had the first punch.

2nd Inning
Michael Massey gave us the answer immediately, working deep into the count and then sending a solo home run 416 feet to left. His 30th of the season tied the game and gave the dugout a needed jolt. Austin Meadows singled, stole second, and moved to third on Kyle Isbel's sacrifice bunt, but Sam Haggerty's lineout to left turned into an out at the plate when Meadows tried to tag. The rally became a run, not a lead.
Montgomery answered with a clean bottom half, getting Steer, Bellinger, and Hayes. For one inning, the game felt like it had been reset.

3rd Inning
Dillon Dingler singled, and Garcia followed with another single, putting two aboard with nobody out. Pasquantino struck out, Schneider flew out, and Payton lined out. Against Skenes, that was the kind of missed chance that lingers. Montgomery allowed a two-out single to Johnson, who stole second, but Reynolds grounded out to end it. Still tied, 1–1.

4th Inning
Kansas City went quietly in the top half, and Pittsburgh took control in the bottom. Wagner doubled, Montgomery balked him to third, and after Suwinski struck out, Spencer Steer doubled him home. Bellinger flew out, but Montgomery uncorked a wild pitch that moved Steer to third, and Ke’Bryan Hayes singled him in. Two runs, three hits, and too much self-inflicted movement. Pirates led 3–1.

5th Inning
Haggerty opened with a double, and Pasquantino later walked, but Schneider grounded out to end another threat with two aboard. Noah Cameron took over in the bottom half and immediately gave up a leadoff double to Johnson, but he struck out Wagner and Suwinski to strand him. That was a strong first impression after the call-up shuffle.

6th Inning
Massey singled and Meadows walked, putting two in scoring position after Isbel's groundout. Haggerty grounded out, and again we left a chance sitting on the table. Cameron gave us a clean bottom half, striking out Bellinger and getting Hayes to fly out. The bullpen was doing the job. The offense was still waiting for the right swing.

7th Inning
That swing finally came. Salvy pinch-hit and flew out, Garcia grounded out, and then Pasquantino doubled with two away. Christian Arroyo, already forcing his way into more September trust, jumped an Ian Gibaut pitch and sent it out to right for a two-run homer. The game was tied 3–3, and for a moment, the dugout had the kind of lift we needed after the Bronx.

Jacob Lopez took over in the bottom half and gave up a leadoff single to Ali Sanchez, but Oneil Cruz forced him at second, Johnson flew out, and Reynolds flew out. Tie game held.

8th Inning
Cy Nielson quieted us down while working around a Drew Waters walk. Lopez delivered a sharp eighth, striking out Wagner and Ty France before getting Steer to fly out. That inning felt like the setup for one more late push. Instead, the ninth became another wound.

9th Inning
We went down in order: Perez flew out, Garcia struck out looking, and Pasquantino flew out. John Schreiber took the bottom half, and Pittsburgh built the ending one base at a time. Endy Rodriguez flew out, but Hayes doubled. Sanchez singled him to third. Schreiber got Cruz to fly out, holding the runner, but then walked Johnson to load the bases. Bryan Reynolds came up, and Schreiber could not find the zone. Four-pitch walk. Hayes scored. Pirates walked it off, 4–3.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 3, Pirates 4
Royals (9 H, 0 E) | Pirates (10 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Paul Skenes

Notable Royals: Massey opened Kansas City's scoring with his 30th home run of the year, and Arroyo tied the game in the seventh with a two-run homer, his second of the season. Pasquantino doubled and scored on Arroyo's blast, Haggerty added a double, and Meadows stole his ninth base.

Notable Pirates: For Pittsburgh, Cruz homered to open the Pirates' scoring, Steer and Hayes drove in fourth-inning runs, and Reynolds drew the bases-loaded walk that ended it.



Winning Pitcher: Cy Nielson, 8–2
Losing Pitcher: John Schreiber, 0–1
Blown Save: Ian Gibaut, 2

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec            IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
J. Montgomery                    4.0    6    3    3    1    6    1    80   4.05
N. Cameron                       2.0    1    0    0    0    3    0    23   2.45
J. Lopez                         2.0    1    0    0    0    2    0    22   2.68
J. Schreiber      L (0-1)        0.2    2    1    1    2    0    0    22   3.75

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

The ninth inning found us again.

• The Eflin diagnosis changes the shape of everything. Shoulder inflammation is not the worst possible outcome, but two to three months ends his 2025 and freezes the extension discussion in a much different place. We now have to decide whether the upside of retaining him outweighs the medical uncertainty.

• The rotation patch is now live. Montgomery moves into the top chair, Turnbull is forced back into a larger role, Marsh comes up as swingman, and Cameron returns as a left-handed relief option. This is not the ideal postseason staff map, but it is the one we have.

• Montgomery was not sharp enough. Four innings and three earned runs forced the bullpen into early duty. The balk and wild pitch in the fourth were small details that helped Pittsburgh turn pressure into runs.

• Cameron and Lopez gave us the bridge. Four combined scoreless innings from the two lefties kept the game alive and gave the lineup time to tie it. That matters with the bullpen being rebuilt daily.

• Arroyo keeps earning trust. His two-run homer in the seventh was exactly the kind of late swing this lineup needed. He may not have opened the year as a central piece, but September keeps creating roles for players willing to grab them.

• Schreiber's ninth hurt. The double, single, walk, and walk-off walk turned a salvageable road opener into the fourth straight loss. We did not get beaten by a grand swing; we got walked off by losing the strike zone.

• This was another spoiler loss. After New York, Pittsburgh was supposed to be the reset. Instead, we are now carrying a four-game skid, a missing ace, and one more late-inning loss toward the final Detroit checkpoint.


Around the League

Washington's postseason hopes officially ended, marking the Nationals' sixth straight playoff miss and their first elimination note since last appearing in October in 2019. September keeps closing doors across the league, and tonight, Washington's was shut for good.

Milwaukee's Jackson Chourio had one of the loudest nights on the board, going 5-for-5 in a 10–2 win over Arizona. Chourio singled in the first, homered in the second, doubled in a run in the fourth, added singles in the sixth and eighth, and walked in the ninth. He is now hitting .277 with 28 home runs, 76 RBIs, and 87 runs scored.
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👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 148



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Saturday, September 20 • Game 2👑

Pittsburgh buries Kansas City with a five-run fourth and hands the club its fifth straight loss.

Kansas City Royals at Pittsburgh Pirates | PNC Park
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 64 degrees | Wind: Left to right at 8 mph | Attendance: 25,110 | First pitch: 6:40 PM ET
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

The day started with one small piece of good organizational news. Chris Rayborn responded that he likes the ACL pitching coach offer, which means we should have him in the system soon. With the rookie-ball seasons closed and several young arms needing better direction, getting him into that clubhouse early matters. In a season that has lately felt like one hard conversation after another, it was nice to have something in the inbox that felt like progress instead of damage control.

Then my mind went right back to last night. I keep replaying the decision to bring in John Schreiber in the ninth instead of letting Jacob Lopez finish the game. It may have cost us the win. It may also have cost us an arm for tonight. But that decision came from the same place as everything else since the Eflin injury: shorter pitch counts, tighter inning management, and trying to buy time for fatigue recovery before the entire staff frays. I rolled the dice and lost. I do not like it, but I also cannot throw the whole plan away because one ninth inning cut us open. We will ride this caution through Game 162, then evaluate it properly in the offseason.

After four straight losses, I made changes. Christian Arroyo has the hot bat, so he got the start at third instead of Davis Schneider and moved into the three-hole behind Pasquantino. Salvy dropped to sixth. Payton went fifth. Massey hit cleanup. Meadows, Isbel, and Haggerty filled the bottom with enough speed to pressure the defense if we could turn the order over. It was not panic. It was an attempt to find any working edge in a week where too many edges have gone dull.

And I meant what I wrote on the lineup card: tonight and tomorrow were must-wins if this club wanted to keep a real Wild Card push alive. Not mathematically. Not officially. But from the dugout, from the clubhouse, from the pulse of a club that had just been swept in New York and walked off in Pittsburgh, the word fit.

Pittsburgh Pirates Series Snapshot

This was Game 2 of the three-game road set at PNC Park. The Pirates had already taken the opener 4–3 on a walk-off walk, with Bryan Reynolds drawing the deciding free pass after Kansas City had battled back on Christian Arroyo's late two-run homer. That loss extended the slide to four and turned this middle game into more of a pressure test than a normal Saturday night.

The original series board had Jordan Montgomery against Paul Skenes, Brady Singer against Kyle Nicolas, and Hunter Brown against Mitch Keller. With Zach Eflin now on the shelf, the rotation has been forced into a patchwork alignment, and Singer's turn tonight carried extra weight because the bullpen was already managing last night's late loss, the Eflin fallout, and the broader fatigue plan.
________________________________________


Series Matchup Board — Game 2

• RHP Brady Singer vs. RHP Kyle Nicolas

Singer's night never found a secure footing. He escaped a first-inning jam after Oneil Cruz doubled and Termarr Johnson reached, but by the third and fourth, the traffic finally caught him. His final line: 3 innings, 7 hits, 4 runs, 3 earned, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts, 1 home run, and 67 pitches. His game score was 29, and the official loss moved him to 8–9.

Nicolas gave Pittsburgh the kind of start we badly needed from our side: 6 innings, 3 hits, 2 earned runs, no walks, and 6 strikeouts on 78 pitches. Louie Varland finished the final three innings, allowing Payton's two-run homer but otherwise keeping the Royals from turning the game into a real late push.

Game Day Log — Royals vs. Pirates (Game 2)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
The new-look top of the order did not get started. Garcia struck out looking, Pasquantino grounded out, and Arroyo flew out to center. Singer opened with danger on the other side when Cruz doubled, and Johnson reached on an infield single, putting runners at the corners with nobody out. But Singer struck out Reynolds and got Max Wagner to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play. It was a good escape, the kind that can settle a starter if the next inning gives him room.

2nd Inning
Nicolas carved through the middle: Massey, Payton, and Perez all struck out. Singer gave up a one-out single to Spencer Steer, but worked through Suwinski and Hayes without damage. Two innings scoreless, but Pittsburgh was already getting harder contact and longer looks.

3rd Inning
The bottom of the Kansas City order went quietly, and then Pittsburgh opened the game. Ali Sanchez grounded out, Cruz struck out, and it looked like Singer might have a two-out clean inning. Instead, Johnson singled, stole second, and Reynolds singled him home. Garcia's error on Wagner's grounder extended the inning, Bellinger walked to load the bases, and Steer worked another walk to force in a run. Singer limited it there, but Pittsburgh led 2–0.

4th Inning
Arroyo gave the dugout a little pulse with a two-out single and stole second, but Massey flew out. That chance disappeared fast. The bottom of the inning did not. Ke'Bryan Hayes opened with a solo homer, Sanchez singled, and Singer's night ended with the inning still burning. Mason Thompson came in, but the inning ran away: Cruz singled, Johnson walked, Reynolds struck out, Wagner struck out, then a wild pitch scored Sanchez. Bellinger walked, Steer walked to force in Cruz, Suwinski walked to force in Johnson, and after Ryan Walker entered, a passed ball brought Bellinger home. Five runs. Three hits. Too many free bases. Pirates led 7–0.

5th Inning
Nicolas kept us quiet again, retiring Payton, Perez, and Meadows. Walker gave us the first stabilizing inning after the blow-up, retiring Sanchez, Cruz, and Johnson in order. But by then, the game had already shifted from must-win to damage-control.

6th Inning
Kyle Isbel finally cracked the scoreboard path open with a single, then stole second and advanced to third on Haggerty's groundout. Garcia lifted a sacrifice fly to center, scoring Isbel and making it 7–1. Walker followed with another clean inning, getting Reynolds, Wagner, and Bellinger. The bullpen had quieted the night, but the offense was still working uphill from too far down.

7th Inning
Arroyo stayed hot with another single, and Varland entered for Pittsburgh. Massey popped out, but Payton jumped a pitch and drove a two-run homer to right, his 15th of the season, cutting it to 7–3. Meadows doubled later in the inning, but Isbel grounded out. That was the last time the dugout had any sense of possible movement.
Pittsburgh answered immediately. Walker struck out Steer, then Suwinski homered to right. Brazoban entered, and Hayes doubled before Sanchez singled him home. Cruz flew out, Johnson walked, and Reynolds struck out, but the Pirates had restored the margin to 9–3. That response took whatever air Payton's swing had created and pushed it right back out of the room.

8th Inning
Varland retired Haggerty, Garcia, and Pasquantino. Brazoban gave us a clean bottom half with three groundouts. It was efficient, but by this point, efficiency only kept the score from getting worse.

9th Inning
Arroyo struck out looking, Massey flew out, and Payton struck out looking to end it. A night we labeled as a must-win ended in a 9–3 loss, and the skid grew from four to five.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 3, Pirates 9
Royals (5 H, 1 E) | Pirates (11 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Kyle Nicolas

Pittsburgh may not be in our direct race, but they have played this series like a spoiler with teeth. They already had Skenes, Reynolds, Hayes, Suwinski, and Oneil Cruz on the scouting board. Tonight, it was Kyle Nicolas giving them six steady innings, while the lineup turned walks, pressure, and one mistake after another into a runaway.

Notable Royals: For Kansas City, Mark Payton drove in two with his 15th homer, Maikel Garcia added a sacrifice fly, Christian Arroyo went 2-for-4 and stole a base, and Kyle Isbel scored after his 16th steal.

Notable Pirates: Pittsburgh got homers from Ke'Bryan Hayes and Jack Suwinski, three hits on the night from the Hayes/Sanchez bottom-order lane, and enough walks to turn the fourth inning into a crooked-number collapse.



Winning Pitcher: Kyle Nicolas, 10–7
Losing Pitcher: Brady Singer, 8–9
Save: Louie Varland, 1

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec            IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
B. Singer         L (8-9)        3.0    7    4    3    2    2    1    67   4.49
M. Thompson                      0.2    1    3    2    4    2    0    29   6.75
R. Walker                        2.2    1    1    1    0    3    1    36   2.08
H. Brazoban                      1.2    2    1    1    1    1    0    27   5.12

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

• The losing streak is now five. We called this a must-win. Pittsburgh turned it into a 9–3 loss. That gap between intent and execution is getting too wide for September.

• Singer could not hold the middle innings. The first-inning escape was promising, but the third exposed the command/traffic issue, and the fourth ended his night. His final line put too much pressure on a bullpen already being managed around fatigue and injuries.

• The fourth inning was the game. Hayes' homer started it, but the walks and wild pitch made it unravel. Thompson entered with a chance to keep it close and instead walked the inning into a mess. Walker inherited the fire and could only slow it after the passed ball added another run.

• Arroyo justified the lineup move. Two hits, a stolen base, and continued confidence at the plate. If we are searching for usable September bats, he remains one of the few players forcing the conversation.

• Payton gave us the only real swing. His two-run homer in the seventh trimmed the score to 7–3, but Pittsburgh answered with two in the bottom half. That immediate counterpunch is what struggling clubs cannot afford.

• Pitch-count caution is still being tested. The Schreiber decision from last night was about workload management. Tonight showed the other side: when the starter fails, and the first bridge arm loses the zone, the plan gets stressed anyway.

• The Wild Card push is running out of soft landings. New York swept us. Pittsburgh has taken the first two. Detroit is still waiting. At some point, "we still have time" becomes "we had time."


Around the League

The focus of the day stayed inside the Royals’ own walls: Rayborn’s expected ACL coaching addition, the continuing Eflin fallout, and a big-league club that now has to stop a five-game slide before it reaches the Detroit doorstep.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 149



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Sunday, September 21 • Game 3👑

The Pirates finish the sweep extending the Royals' skid to six.

Kansas City Royals at Pittsburgh Pirates | PNC Park
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 64 degrees | Wind: Left to right at 9 mph | Attendance: 21,957 | First pitch: 1:35 PM ET
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

There was not much good to pull from last night. Pittsburgh beat us clean, and worse than that, they made us look like a team that had no business arriving with October still on the line. Singer and Thompson carried the weight of the ugly innings, but the truth was bigger than two arms. The Pirates handled us, and we wore that loss like a clown suit. It was the kind of game that makes a manager stare at the lineup card too long, and a general manager stare at the depth chart too hard.

We came into today having lost five straight, the worst active streak in the league at the worst possible time. The message was simple: get one win, leave Pittsburgh with a little dignity, and go home for Detroit with something that still felt like footing. Detroit is no longer an abstract checkpoint. They are right there in the Wild Card lane with us, and tomorrow starts the kind of series that can tilt an entire season.

I made fresh-arm moves between Omaha and the bullpen, but lately every move feels like pushing a wet rope uphill. Since the calendar turned deeper into September, the formula has not held. Eflin is out. Bobby Witt Jr. still is not back. The bullpen is being stitched together. The lineup is stuck in stretches where every inning feels like it needs three perfect events just to score one run. I am not out of answers, but I am running out of clean ones.

There was still scouting business moving beneath the major-league frustration. Jason McLeod returned from Curaçao with a report on 16-year-old right-hander Domingo Romero, born in Montaña Abou.

Figure 1. Domingo Romero International Complex Profile — Curaçaoan Arm with Sinker-Changeup Upside



Perspective: Domingo Romero's September 21 scouting profile gives the organization a first look at a 16-year-old right-hander from Montaña Abou, Curaçao, now assigned to the KC International Complex.

The present scouting certainty is still low, and his current role projects more as bullpen depth than a finished starter, but the future pitch mix is worth tracking: a hard fastball, a promising changeup, and a sinker that gives him a real developmental foundation if the control continues to come along. The long ball may be his problem, and I am not yet sold that he holds a starting rotation spot long-term, but he is worth more than a casual look.

For the front office, Romero is another long-range pitching follow from Jason McLeod's international work — not an answer for the current September slide, but a reminder that the system still has to keep building arms beneath the major-league pressure. Romero has been assigned to the international complex, another future arm filed away while the present staff tries to survive.

Pittsburgh Pirates Series Snapshot

This was the final game of the three-game road series at PNC Park, and the Royals entered already beaten twice. Friday ended with a walk-off walk after Christian Arroyo had tied the game late. Saturday turned into a 9–3 mess, with a five-run Pittsburgh fourth turning a must-win into another slide marker. Today was supposed to be the dignity game, the one that at least kept the club from dragging a full Pittsburgh sweep back to Kauffman.

The original series board had Jordan Montgomery, Brady Singer, and Hunter Brown lined up against Paul Skenes, Kyle Nicolas, and Mitch Keller. Pittsburgh got strong work from all three. We got moments, but not enough innings when the pitching and offense lined up.
________________________________________

Series Matchup Board — Game 3

• RHP Hunter Brown vs. RHP Mitch Keller

Brown's line was more competitive than the final score felt: 5 innings, 4 hits, 3 earned runs, 2 walks, 9 strikeouts, 96 pitches, and no home runs allowed. His game score was 54, and he had the swing-and-miss working, but the second and fifth innings did enough damage to make the lack of offensive support fatal.

Keller owned the day. He went 6.1 scoreless innings, allowing only 2 hits while walking 4 and striking out 6. Cy Nielson bridged the seventh and eighth, and Anthony Solometo closed the ninth for his 17th save. Pittsburgh did not need to slug us today. Keller made sure three runs were plenty.

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

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Keller set the tone quickly. Garcia lined out, Pasquantino grounded out, and Arroyo struck out swinging. Brown answered with the kind of first inning we needed, striking out Oneil Cruz looking, getting Termarr Johnson swinging, and retiring Bryan Reynolds on a flyout. For one inning, the game looked like it might become the clean response we were asking for.

2nd Inning
Austin Meadows singled with two outs, but Salvador Perez grounded out and the inning ended. Brown then hit his first rough patch. Max Wagner walked, Brown uncorked a wild pitch, and Cody Bellinger doubled Wagner home. Brown recovered by getting Spencer Steer, Jack Suwinski, and Ke’Bryan Hayes, striking out the last two, but Pittsburgh had the first run again. Pirates led 1–0.

3rd Inning
Keller retired Haggerty, Isbel, and Garcia in order. Brown matched him, working a clean bottom half around Ali Sanchez, Cruz, and Johnson. It stayed 1–0, and the game still felt reachable. That was the problem: it stayed reachable all day, but the offense never grabbed it.

4th Inning
This was the inning we had to cash. Pasquantino walked. Arroyo walked. Mark Payton struck out, but Massey walked too, loading the bases with one out. Meadows came up with a chance to flip the game and struck out looking. Salvy flew out. Three runners left, no runs. That was the inning that told the dugout what kind of Sunday this was going to be. Brown came back and punched out Reynolds and Bellinger in a clean bottom half. He did his part to keep the missed chance from immediately turning worse.

5th Inning
Isbel walked with one out, but Garcia flew out and Pasquantino grounded into a fielder’s choice. Pittsburgh then put the game in its final shape. Suwinski walked, Hayes singled, and Ali Sanchez singled home Suwinski. Cruz followed with another single, loading the bases. Johnson lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Hayes, and Brown escaped by striking out Reynolds. Two runs scored, and Pittsburgh led 3–0.

6th Inning
Keller retired Arroyo, Payton, and Massey in order, finishing his day’s main work with command of the whole field. James McArthur took over for Brown and gave us a clean inning after a two-out Steer single was erased on a caught stealing. That was important relief work, but the game was already trapped inside the offense’s silence.

7th Inning
Meadows popped out, but Perez singled, and Keller’s day ended. Cy Nielson entered and walked Haggerty, putting two on with one out. Lane Thomas pinch-hit for Isbel and lined out. Garcia then grounded into a force at second. Another scoring chance, another zero.

McArthur gave a sharp bottom half, striking out Suwinski and Sanchez around a Hayes flyout. We were still close enough for one swing to matter. We just never found the swing.

8th Inning
Devin Mann pinch-hit for Pasquantino and singled. Arroyo flew out, and then Mann was caught stealing before Payton doubled. The sequence summed up the entire series: a base runner, a chance, and then one mistake before the extra-base hit arrived too late. Massey grounded out, and the inning was gone.

Jacob Lopez finished the bottom half after McArthur opened it. Johnson singled, but Reynolds and Wagner grounded out, and the Pirates stayed at three.

9th Inning
Anthony Solometo entered for the save. Meadows singled to lead off, but he was caught stealing. Perez walked, giving us one more runner, but Haggerty grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Shutout complete. Sweep complete. Losing streak at six.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 0, Pirates 3
Royals (5 H, 0 E) | Pirates (6 H, 0 E)

The Pirates were not just playing spoiler — they were sweeping us right toward the Detroit series with the kind of timing that makes a clubhouse quiet.

Player of the Game: Mitch Keller

Notable Royals: Kansas City had five hits and six walks but left eight on base and grounded into the ninth-inning double play that ended it. Meadows had two hits, Payton doubled, Devin Mann added a pinch-hit single, and Salvy reached twice, but the Royals were shut out for the second time in this six-game skid.

Notable Pirates: Pittsburgh got its runs from Bellinger's second-inning double, Sanchez's fifth-inning RBI single, and Johnson's sacrifice fly.



Winning Pitcher: Mitch Keller, 10–7
Losing Pitcher: Hunter Brown, 5–7
Save: Anthony Solometo, 17

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec           IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
H. Brown          L (5-7)        5.0    4    3    3    2    9    0    96   4.95
J. McArthur                      2.1    1    0    0    0    2    0    36   1.62
J. Lopez                         0.2    1    0    0    0    0    0     9   2.64

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

• The losing streak is now six. New York swept us. Pittsburgh swept us. The timing could not be worse with Detroit walking into Kauffman next.

• Brown gave us enough to stay in it. Five innings, nine strikeouts, three runs. It was not dominant, but it was competitive. With even modest offense, this game could have played differently.

• The fourth inning was the missed game. Bases loaded, one out, down only 1–0. Meadows struck out, and Perez flew out. That was the chance to flip the dugout, and it went empty.

• The baserunning hurt late. Mann was caught stealing before Payton's double in the eighth, and Meadows was caught stealing before Perez walked in the ninth. In a shutout, every out on the bases feels twice as expensive.

• McArthur and Lopez did their jobs. Combined, they gave us three scoreless innings after Brown. The relief work kept the game in reach, but the lineup could not answer.

• Detroit is now the season's doorway. We go home with no momentum, no room for excuses, and a direct chance to change the race. If we are going to spoil somebody's favor, it has to start tomorrow.

• Romero joins the international file. Domingo Romero is not an immediate headline, but the Curaçao scouting trip produced another arm for the complex. The future work continues even when the major-league present feels stuck in mud.


Around the League

Playoff Standings:

The playoff board is starting to lock. Arizona officially clinched a postseason berth, with Torey Lovullo emphasizing both the accomplishment and the larger championship goal still ahead. The Diamondbacks sit at 91–57 and now turn their focus toward finishing off the NL West.

St. Louis also secured its postseason spot at 90–58, giving the National League two more clubs with October tickets punched.

League Players:

Milwaukee's William Contreras hit for the cycle in a 6–2 win over Arizona, going 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. He tripled in the second, singled in the fourth, homered in the fifth, and doubled in the ninth, checking off one of baseball's rarest offensive feats.

Minor Leagues:

In the minors, Northwest Arkansas first baseman Jhoneiker Betancourt launched three home runs in an 8–1 win over Tulsa, driving in five and giving the Naturals a loud development note on a day when the major-league club could not generate a run.

Salem also wrapped up its Round 1 championship over Columbia, defeating the Fireflies 3-1 at Haley Toyota Field, closing the series 4–1 behind a 77–55 regular-season foundation.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 150



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Monday, September 22 • Game 1👑

The Royals beat Detroit in the most important response of September.

Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Clear skies, 64 degrees | Wind: Out to center at 11 mph | Attendance: 31,618 | First pitch: 6:40 PM CT
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

The air around Kauffman felt heavy this morning, like smoke hanging too low over the parking lot and following me into the office. Six straight losses will do that. We had gone from a club building momentum against Minnesota to the coldest team in the league at the exact moment the schedule demanded strength. New York swept us. Pittsburgh swept us. Now, Detroit had come directly into our home park with the Wild Card race sitting between the two clubhouses.



I would be lying if I said my confidence had not taken a hit. We had not played like an October club during the road trip. We had not hit in the moments that mattered, had not protected leads, and had not handled pressure innings with enough precision. The names on the roster still said "contender." The baseball did not. That made this Detroit series simple: no speeches about long seasons, no comfort in mathematical possibility, no more looking three games ahead. This was do-or-die baseball, right here at Kauffman.

Luinder Avila drew the first assignment. With Eflin gone and the rotation reshuffled, Avila's role has become larger than the original season plan. He has given us credible innings, attacked both sides of the plate, and shown enough composure that I increasingly see him as part of the future rotation rather than a temporary patch. Tonight, though, the future could wait. We needed him to stop the present from unraveling.

Detroit Tigers Series Snapshot

Detroit arrived at 83–67, second in the AL Central and only one game behind the division leader. The Tigers had scored 685 runs, ranking ninth in the American League, while their .242 team batting average ranked 12th. Their real strength was run prevention: 627 runs allowed, second in the league, a 3.79 rotation ERA ranked first, and a 3.93 bullpen ERA ranked fourth. They also entered with a 7–3 season record against us, proof that this matchup had leaned their way before the opening pitch.

The projected series board put three consequential matchups in front of us:

RHP Luinder Avila vs. RHP Jackson Jobe
LHP Jordan Montgomery vs. RHP Michael King
RHP Spencer Turnbull vs. RHP Reese Olson

Detroit's roster remains built around high-end pitching and young impact talent. Tarik Skubal, Colt Keith, Jackson Jobe, Riley Greene, and Michael King head the scouting list. They did not come to Kansas City merely to protect a Wild Card spot; they came with a chance to take control of the Central Division race. That gave this opener the feeling of a postseason game played a week early.
________________________________________


Series Matchup Board — Game 1

• RHP Luinder Avila — 4–7, 3.86 ERA entering the series vs. RHP Jackson Jobe — 7–9, 4.26 ERA entering the series

Avila gave us five innings, allowing four hits and two earned runs with two walks and seven strikeouts. Riley Greene homered in the first, and Bo Bichette's second-inning triple became Detroit's second run, but Avila settled after that. He retired the final three hitters of his outing in order and handed a one-run lead to the bullpen. The win moved him to 5–7 and lowered his ERA to 3.84.

Jobe never recovered from our first-inning answer. He worked 5.1 innings but gave up eight hits, five earned runs, two walks, and two Michael Massey home runs. Lou Trivino allowed two more in the eighth, and Detroit's strongest organizational trait — preventing runs — did not travel cleanly into the series opener.

Game Day Log — Royals vs. Tigers (Game 1)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Avila opened by striking out Jace Jung, but Riley Greene drove a solo home run to right and gave Detroit the immediate 1–0 lead. After six straight losses, there was a moment where the dugout could have tightened again. Instead, Avila retired Eddys Leonard and Colt Keith to keep the inning from growing.

The offense answered with its best first inning in days. Maikel Garcia singled, and Vinnie Pasquantino doubled him home. Garcia scored, though Pasquantino was cut down trying for third. Christian Arroyo struck out, but Mark Payton tripled with two away. Then Michael Massey turned on the first pitch he saw and sent a two-run homer to left. Three runs, four hits, and a 3–1 lead. For the first time in a week, we punched back immediately instead of absorbing the night.

2nd Inning
Detroit answered. Kyle Schwarber struck out, but Bo Bichette tripled and scored when Ramón Urías singled through the middle. Avila struck out Parker Meadows and got Alejandro Kirk to ground out, preserving the lead at 3–2.

Jobe settled against the bottom of our order, striking out Haggerty and Dingler before Garcia grounded out. The early explosion had given us a lead, but the game had already settled into the kind of one-run tension this series promised.

3rd Inning
Avila worked around a walk to Greene, getting Jung on a grounder, Leonard on a fly ball, and Keith looking. Payton walked in the bottom half, but he was caught stealing before Massey could finish the plate appearance. The decision erased the runner and ended the inning, another reminder that aggression only helps when the timing holds.

4th Inning
Schwarber singled and Urías walked, putting two aboard, but Avila struck out Bichette and got Parker Meadows and Kirk on fly balls. That was his best pressure inning — traffic without damage, and Detroit left two aboard.

Massey singled to open the bottom half. Isbel moved him to second with a sacrifice bunt, but Haggerty flew out. We did not add on, but the inning showed that Massey's first homer was not a one-swing accident. His timing had fully returned.

5th Inning
Avila finished strongly, striking out Jung and Greene before Leonard flew out. Seven strikeouts over five innings, and after the second, Detroit never scored against him again.

Dingler singled for us, but Pasquantino grounded into a double play. The game remained 3–2, and the bullpen portion of the night arrived with no margin for a mistake.

6th Inning
Brennan Bernardino entered and gave us exactly the inning the staff needed, retiring Keith, Schwarber, and Bichette in order. Clean bridge work has been hard to find during this skid, and that sixth inning helped settle the dugout.

Arroyo opened the bottom half with a single. Payton lined out, and then Massey stepped in again. This time, he drove a Jobe pitch 433 feet to center for his second two-run homer of the game. The swing pushed the lead to 5–2, gave him five RBIs on the night, and finally put some breathing room between the team and us chasing the same October lane.

7th Inning
Bernardino walked Urías after striking out Parker Meadows, but Kirk grounded into a 4-6-3 double play. Two scoreless innings from Bernardino, one hitless bridge, and Detroit's best chance to turn the lineup over disappeared.

We went quietly in the bottom half, but for the first time in several days, the absence of another run did not feel fatal.

8th Inning
Noah Cameron came in and surrendered a pinch-hit solo homer to Wilmer Flores. Massey then committed an error on Greene's grounder, bringing the old uneasiness back into the park. Cameron answered by getting Leonard to ground into a double play and Keith to fly out. Detroit had cut it to 5–3, but the inning stopped there.

The offense responded again, which may have been the most encouraging part of the night. Devin Mann was hit by a pitch, Arroyo singled, and Payton singled to load the bases. Massey followed with his fourth hit, scoring Mann for his fifth RBI. Lane Thomas struck out, but Drew Waters lifted a sacrifice fly to bring Arroyo home. Haggerty walked before Dingler struck out, and the we carried a 7–3 lead into the ninth.

9th Inning
Cameron allowed a leadoff single to Schwarber, and Arroyo's error put another runner aboard. With the skid still fresh in everyone's head, the inning had the wrong ingredients. Cameron did not blink. He struck out Bichette, struck out Urías, and got Kirk to force the runner at second. Ballgame. Six-game losing streak over.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 7, Tigers 3
Royals (11 H, 2 E) | Tigers (6 H, 0 E)

Kansas City returns home carrying six straight losses and a season on the edge, but Michael Massey launches two home runs, drives in five, and helps the Royals beat Detroit 7–3 in the most important response of September.

Player of the Game: Michael Massey

Notable Royals: Massey finished 4-for-4 with two home runs, two runs scored, and five RBIs. Payton went 2-for-3 with a triple and a walk, Arroyo added two hits and scored twice, Pasquantino doubled home the first Kansas City run, and Waters supplied the eighth-inning sacrifice fly.

Notable Tigers: Detroit's three runs came on homers by Greene and Flores and an RBI single by Urías.



Winning Pitcher: Luinder Avila, 5–7
Losing Pitcher: Jackson Jobe, 7–10
Save: Noah Cameron, 1

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec           IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
L. Avila          W (5-7)        5.0    4    2    2    2    7    1    82   3.84
B. Bernardino      H (2)         2.0    0    0    0    1    1    0    30   4.40
N. Cameron         SV (1)        2.0    2    1    1    0    2    1    25   2.70

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

The six-game skid is finally over. One win does not repair the entire road trip, but stopping the bleeding against Detroit matters more than ending it against a lesser opponent. My faith is restored, but not fully. This win proves the club still has fight, but it does not erase the collapse that preceded it. Detroit remains beside us, and the next two games will determine whether tonight was a turning point or merely one breath between problems.

• Massey carried the building. Four hits, two home runs, five RBIs. His 31st and 32nd homers gave the offense both its early response and the separation swing in the sixth.

• Avila met the moment. He allowed two early runs, then shut Detroit down over his final three innings. Seven strikeouts and a win in a game with this much standings weight strengthen his case as a genuine rotation piece.

• Bernardino gave us the clean bridge. Two hitless innings allowed the offense time to widen the lead and kept the bullpen plan from becoming another September scramble.

• Cameron earned the save the difficult way. He gave up the Flores homer and pitched around two defensive errors, but he finished two innings and closed the game without requiring another reliever.

• The defense still needs tightening. Arroyo and Massey each committed an error. Detroit did not fully cash them in, but playoff-level opponents will not always leave those openings unused.

• The lineup answered every Detroit push. After Greene’s first-inning homer, we scored three. After Flores cut the lead in the eighth, we scored two. That is the response pattern we lost during the six-game skid.


Around the League

Our six-game losing streak sent the club tumbling to 17th in the latest MLB power rankings, with a strong downward trend. Detroit entered the week fifth, Cleveland seventh, and Minnesota 15th, which reflects how much ground and perception we lost during the New York–Pittsburgh Road collapse. One win will not immediately improve the ranking, but beating Detroit is the right place to start.

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Tampa Bay Rays (111.0, ++)
2) Arizona Diamondbacks (109.0, -)
3) St. Louis Cardinals (107.7, -)
4) Atlanta Braves (101.5, ++)
5) Detroit Tigers (101.5, -)
6) Texas Rangers (99.9, +)
7) Cleveland Guardians (99.8, ++)
8) San Francisco Giants (97.9, -)
9) Milwaukee Brewers (96.8, +)
10) Pittsburgh Pirates (93.9, +)
11) San Diego Padres (93.1, ++)
12) Cincinnati Reds (92.5, --)
13) New York Mets (91.9, ++)
14) Boston Red Sox (91.3, --)
15) Minnesota Twins (91.1, +)
16) Los Angeles Dodgers (89.9, +)
17) Kansas City Royals (89.2, --)
18) New York Yankees (88.5, ++)
19) Chicago Cubs (88.2, ++)
20) Baltimore Orioles (86.3, --)
21) Philadelphia Phillies (85.6, --)
22) Los Angeles Angels (84.9, ++)
23) Houston Astros (82.0, ++)
24) Chicago White Sox (81.5, o)
25) Seattle Mariners (79.1, --)
26) Miami Marlins (78.2, +)
27) Oakland Athletics (75.1, --)
28) Colorado Rockies (72.1, +)
29) Washington Nationals (68.3, o)
30) Toronto Blue Jays (66.7, -)

Playoff Standings:

Tampa Bay officially clinched the American League East, the fourth division title in franchise history, and continues chasing what would be the organization's first World Series championship. Colorado moved the other direction, becoming mathematically eliminated for a seventh consecutive season.

League Players:

Oakland's Mike Brosseau earned American League Player of the Week after hitting .391 with three home runs and nine RBIs, while Atlanta center fielder Michael Harris II took the National League honor after batting .400 with three homers. Harris now carries a .306 average, 29 home runs, and 103 RBIs into the final stretch.

The top 5 relievers leading the Major League Baseball in ERA at home:

Pete Fairbanks, TB, 1.28
Jhoan Duran, MIN, 1.64
Bruce Zimmermann, BAL, 1.67
Justin Lawrence, MIL, 2.08
Eric Lauer, MIL, 2.15

Minor Leagues:

Within the Royals system, Joe Gray Jr. produced a remarkable night for Northwest Arkansas, hitting three home runs — including two grand slams — and driving in nine during a 12–0 win over Tulsa.

Gray's performance pushed his season total to 30 homers and 94 RBIs, giving the organization a powerful minor-league headline on the same night Massey carried the major-league club.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 151



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Tuesday, September 23 • Game 2👑

The Tigers pile up 17 hits in a Royals’ loss that exposes every flaw at once.

Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 66 degrees | Wind: In from right at 11 mph | Attendance: 29,980 | First pitch: 6:40 PM CT
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

The morning should have felt lighter. We had finally stopped the six-game losing streak, beaten Detroit in the series opener, and reminded ourselves that this club could still throw a punch when the standings demanded it. Instead, the room still carried the smoke from New York and Pittsburgh. One win had opened a window, but it had not cleared the air. We were still trying to breathe normally again.

We remained in the Wild Card race, four games ahead of Minnesota, but Detroit was still directly in front of us in the fight for the stronger seed. That made these final two head-to-head games more than ordinary September baseball. Losing both would not mathematically end the season, but it would put the rest of the schedule on a steep grade and leave us depending on other clubs to repair damage we created ourselves.

I adjusted the lineup again, trying to give Michael Massey and Christian Arroyo better lanes to keep their bats moving after yesterday's response. But too many other hitters had cooled at the wrong time, and our baserunning had fallen to 15th in the league. That bothered me because discipline on the bases had been one of the elements that helped build this season. Now, with the pressure highest, we were giving away outs, missing reads, and trying to force innings instead of letting them develop.

Every morning, the same question keeps coming back: why are we losing that discipline now?

Detroit Tigers Series Snapshot

Detroit entered Game 2 having dropped the opener 7–3, but the Tigers still held the stronger season position and the deeper run-prevention profile. They came into the series at 83–67, one game behind the AL Central leader, with the league's top-ranked rotation ERA and a bullpen ranked among the American League's best. They had also controlled the season series against us before Monday, winning seven of the first ten meetings.

This was the pressure point of the series. Win, and we would secure at least a split of the first two while gaining another direct game on Detroit. Lose, and the series would return to level with one game left—and the confidence from Massey's two-homer night would already begin to feel temporary.
________________________________________


Series Matchup Board — Game 2

• RHP Spencer Turnbull vs. RHP Michael King

The projected matchup board had placed Spencer Turnbull opposite Michael King for this middle game. Turnbull had been pulled back into the rotation after the Eflin injury, while King represented another seasoned Detroit arm capable of keeping a lineup under control. Neither starter delivered a clean performance. The difference was that Detroit's middle relief stopped the bleeding, while ours widened it.

Turnbull absorbed five innings but never controlled the game. He allowed nine hits, seven earned runs, two walks, and struck out only two on 83 pitches. Detroit scored in four of the six innings he appeared in, and the sixth began with a double and single before I went to Huascar Brazoban. Those inherited runners scored immediately, completing Turnbull's line and moving his record to 14–9 with a 4.15 ERA.

King was vulnerable, too. He lasted only 4.2 innings, allowing five hits, five earned runs, two walks, and two strikeouts. Our four-run fifth chased him and tied the game. Paul Blackburn then gave Detroit exactly what we could not find: three scoreless innings in relief, enough to allow the Tiger offense to break the game open.


Game Day Log — Royals vs. Tigers (Game 2)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Detroit attacked immediately. Jace Jung singled, Riley Greene tripled him home, and Colt Keith followed with an RBI single. Turnbull got Eddys Leonard on strikes and coaxed Kyle Schwarber into a double play, but the Tigers had already put two on the board before we came to bat. Vinnie Pasquantino singled with one out in our half, but Christian Arroyo lined directly into a 6-3 double play. It was one of those hard-contact outs that looks harmless in the book but drains an inning before it gets started. Detroit led 2–0.

2nd Inning
Turnbull recovered with a clean frame, striking out Bo Bichette and retiring Parker Meadows and Ramón Urías. Michael King answered by working around a hit-by-pitch to Massey. Payton grounded out, Perez struck out, and Meadows forced Massey at second. No offensive traction yet.

3rd Inning
Jung walked, stole second, and scored when Leonard singled to right. The throw home allowed Leonard to advance, and Detroit had another run built from pressure and execution. Turnbull got Keith to ground out, but the deficit had grown to 3–0. Drew Waters started our response with a double, moved to third on Haggerty's groundout, and scored on Pasquantino’s two-out single. Arroyo forced Pasquantino at second, but the Royals had at least answered one run. Detroit led 3–1.

4th Inning
Turnbull walked Schwarber, then got Bichette and induced Parker Meadows into a 5-4-3 double play. It was his cleanest escape after the second. Kansas City went in order in the bottom half, with Salvy's 110.6 mph fly ball finding center field instead of grass. Still 3–1.

5th Inning
Detroit added two more. Urías and Tomás Nido opened with singles. Jung forced Urías at third, but Greene grounded home one run, and Leonard doubled in another. Turnbull avoided further damage, but the Tigers had stretched the lead to 5–1.

Then the offense finally erupted. Austin Meadows walked, and Waters walked. Haggerty doubled Meadows home and moved Waters to third. Garcia reached on a fielder's choice play at the plate, with Waters beating the throw, and then stole second. Pasquantino and Arroyo could not advance the inning, but Payton drove a two-run double into the gap, scoring Haggerty and Garcia. After four runs, the game was suddenly tied 5–5.

That should have been the reset. Instead, it became the last moment the game belonged to us.

6th Inning
Turnbull returned and gave up a leadoff double to Schwarber and a single to Bichette. With runners at the corners and nobody out, I went to Brazoban. Parker Meadows greeted him with a three-run homer to left. Urías doubled, Nido singled him home, and Brazoban left without recording an out. Four runs had crossed before Jacob Lopez could stabilize the inning with two strikeouts. Detroit led 9–5.

We tried to answer. Massey walked, Austin Meadows singled, and Waters singled to load the bases with nobody out. Haggerty lifted a fly ball to center, but Parker Meadows threw Massey out at home. Garcia then grounded out. Three runners aboard, no runs. That inning was the cruel mirror of the game: Detroit cashed every opening, while we found another way to close our own door.

7th Inning
Lopez struck out Schwarber and Bichette after walking Keith, but Garcia's error on Parker Meadows' grounder extended the inning. Urías singled home Keith, and Nido followed with a two-run single. Fernando Cruz entered and struck out Jung, but Detroit had added three unearned runs and moved the score to 12–5.

We reached on Detroit's own error in the bottom half, but Blackburn kept the inning scoreless. The game had moved beyond normal comeback range.

8th Inning
Cruz worked around Leonard's single and struck out Schwarber to complete a scoreless frame. Blackburn retired Massey and Austin Meadows before walking Waters; Dominic Leone came in and got Haggerty to fly out. The Tigers' bullpen continued to supply the quiet innings ours had not.

9th Inning
John Schreiber allowed singles to Urías and Nido but struck out Bichette and Jung, holding Detroit at 12. Then we staged one last push. Devin Mann walked, Arroyo singled, and Payton singled to load the bases. Perez lifted a sacrifice fly, Massey singled, Austin Meadows singled home Arroyo, and Waters singled home Payton. Haggerty followed with an infield hit, but the batted ball struck a runner, ending the game with three runners stranded. The final rally changed the number, not the result. Tigers 12, Royals 8.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 8, Tigers 12
Royals (13 H, 1 E) | Tigers (17 H, 1 E)

Player of the Game: Ramón Urías

Notable Tigers: Urías finished 4-for-5 with a double, three runs scored, and an RBI. Nido added four hits and three RBIs, Greene drove in two, and Parker Meadows delivered the decisive three-run homer in the sixth.

Notable Royals: Kansas City received three hits each from Waters and Haggerty, two hits and two RBIs from Payton, two hits from Pasquantino, and two more from Austin Meadows. The offense scored eight without a home run, but the pitching staff surrendered 17 hits and 12 runs.



Winning Pitcher: Paul Blackburn, 7–1
Losing Pitcher: Spencer Turnbull, 14–9
Save: Listher Sosa, 9

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec           IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
S. Turnbull       L (14-9)       5.0    9    7    7    2    2    0    83   4.15
H. Brazoban                      0.0    3    2    2    0    0    1    16   5.59
J. Lopez                         1.2    2    3    0    1    4    0    37   2.55
F. Cruz                          1.1    1    0    0    0    2    0    27   5.00
J. Schreiber                    1.0    2    0    0    0    2    0    20   3.46

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

We managed to erase a four-run deficit and breathe at 5–5, but Spencer Turnbull couldn't finish the sixth. The bullpen collapsed behind him, and the Tigers piled up 17 hits against us, exposing every flaw at once. Thirteen hits and eight runs should be enough. That is the harshest takeaway. The lineup did many of the things we had been asking of it, but every flaw in the pitching plan arrived on the same night.

• This was a complete pitching collapse. Turnbull gave up seven earned runs, Brazoban allowed three straight hits and two runs without recording an out, and the staff surrendered 17 hits. The offense should not have to score 13 to win a September home game.

• The fifth inning showed the fight is still there. Down 5–1, we tied it with four runs, highlighted by Haggerty's double, Garcia's pressure play at the plate, and Payton's two-run double.

• The sixth inning erased the comeback immediately. Turnbull allowed the first two runners, Brazoban surrendered the three-run homer, then gave up two more hits. A tie game became a four-run deficit before an out was recorded.

• The bases-loaded failure in the sixth was the counterpunch we missed. After Detroit scored four, we loaded the bases with nobody out and came away empty when Massey was thrown out at home. That was the last real chance to keep the game within reach.

• Garcia's error widened the seventh. Lopez had nearly worked through the inning, but the extra out opened the door for three unearned runs. His official ERA improved because the runs were unearned; the scoreboard did not care.

• Waters and Haggerty kept producing. Waters reached five times with three hits and two walks, while Haggerty had two hits, including the fifth-inning RBI double. Their work was buried beneath the pitching line.

• The series now comes down to the finale. Yesterday restored some belief. Tonight, I spent most of it. We still have one direct game left against Detroit, and no room to pretend the standings pressure is anything less than immediate.


Around the League

At Double-A, disciplinary action followed the recent confrontation between Tulsa and Northwest Arkansas. Tulsa's Angel Diaz received a five-game suspension, while Naturals reliever Tyson Guerrero was suspended for ten games. Diaz is batting .258 with 18 home runs and 41 RBIs; Guerrero has eight wins, three saves, a 4.83 ERA, and 107 strikeouts across 110 innings. The suspensions remove an important arm from the Northwest Arkansas staff during its closing stretch.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 152



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Wednesday, September 24 • Game 3👑

The Tigers leave Kauffman with an 8–7 series-clinching win.

Detroit Tigers at Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 64 degrees | Wind: In from right at 12 mph | Attendance: 30,529 | First pitch: 6:40 PM CT
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

Our postseason chances are fading in front of us, and lately, every attempt to stop the slide has felt like another move without a return. Last night was the full picture of this season's inconsistency: the lineup fought back from four runs down, only for the pitching plan to collapse before the comeback had time to settle. The swingman rotation, daily bullpen shuttles, lineup adjustments, and fresh-arm calls have become routine. What they have not become is a dependable fix.

That has started to wear on my confidence—not in the players' willingness to compete, but in my ability to find the exact combination that gets us over the threshold into October. A baseball game does not respect the plan written at noon. Injuries happen, inherited runners score, routine plays become errors, and one bad inning can tear apart nine good decisions. Tonight, hope felt like the last tool still sitting on the bench.

There was at least one piece of good front-office news. Chris Rayborn accepted our two-year offer to become the ACL Royals' pitching coach in Surprise. The major-league season may be narrowing, but the organization cannot stop building.

Figure 1. Chris Rayborn - ACL Pitching Coach Profile — Development Hire with Elite Teaching Upside



Perspective: Chris Rayborn's staff profile shows why the organization moved quickly to bring him into the ACL Royals program on a two-year agreement.

Although he carries an inexperienced reputation, Rayborn brings seven years of coaching experience, a power-pitcher focus, good developmental influence, and a legendary teaching grade for pitching. His broader defensive and hitting instruction is limited, but that is not the assignment. For the front office, this is a targeted lower-level hire built around one clear objective: give the organization's youngest arms a stronger developmental voice in Surprise and arrive in time to begin forming relationships with the next group moving through the complex, while the major-league staff fights through the final stretch of 2025.

For the game itself, Alec Marsh got the ball. With Zach Eflin gone, the rotation stressed, and the bullpen already carrying too much September mileage, this was his opportunity to turn an emergency call into something more. He did exactly that. The cruel part is that his work became another solid start buried beneath late-inning damage.

Detroit Tigers Series Snapshot

The series reached its deciding game tied at one apiece. We broke the six-game losing streak in Monday's opener behind Michael Massey's two-home-run night, then watched Detroit answer with 17 hits and 12 runs on Tuesday. That left the finale as a direct swing in the standings: win the series and restore some control; lose it and allow Detroit to leave Kansas City with another head-to-head advantage.

Detroit entered the series with one of the American League's best run-prevention units, and its depth showed again. Reese Olson started, Will Vest bridged, Sawyer Gipson-Long carried the middle-late innings, Listher Sosa lost the ninth-inning lead, and Alex Lange recovered in the tenth. The Tigers did not play a clean game from start to finish, but they had enough layers to survive our late counterpunch.

For us, the series had become a referendum on the roster's construction in September. We needed Marsh to hold the line, the bullpen to finish what he started, and the offense to keep answering without Bobby Witt Jr. in the middle of it. Only one of those three requirements held for the entire night.
________________________________________

Series Matchup Board — Game 3

• RHP Alec Marsh vs. RHP Reese Olson

Marsh gave us the best possible outcome from a replacement starter: 5 innings, 4 hits, 1 unearned run, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts over 88 pitches. His game score was 58, and the only Detroit run against him came in an inning extended by two Kansas City errors. He left with the Royals trailing 1–0, but he had given the club every chance to win.

Olson worked 5.1 innings, allowing 7 hits and 2 earned runs with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. Kansas City finally broke through against him in the sixth, but Detroit's bullpen initially reclaimed control before Sosa surrendered Payton's dramatic ninth-inning homer. Alex Lange then retired all four hitters he faced to secure the win.


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

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Marsh immediately found traffic when Eddys Leonard and Kyle Schwarber singled with two outs. Lane Thomas made the defensive play that ended it, throwing behind the advancing runners and cutting down Schwarber at second while Leonard reached third. It was an alert outfield assist and a clean escape from an inning that could have turned quickly.
Drew Waters opened the bottom half with a single and stole second. Pasquantino’s fly ball moved him to third, but Christian Arroyo grounded out, and Massey flew out. The first scoring chance ended with Waters still standing 90 feet away.

2nd Inning
Marsh walked Ramón Urías and Luis Urías, but Andrew McCutchen grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. Salvador Perez singled in our half, but Garcia forced him at second. The game remained scoreless, with Marsh navigating traffic and Olson preventing any early payoff.

3rd Inning
Marsh retired Detroit in order. Pasquantino supplied the Royals' first extra-base hit with a two-out double, but Arroyo flew out to center. Another runner reached scoring position without crossing the plate.

4th Inning
Marsh worked his second straight clean frame, retiring Leonard, Schwarber, and Parker Meadows. Lane Thomas doubled with one out in the bottom half, but our baserunning discipline failed again. Thomas was caught trying for third, and Austin Meadows later walked only to be caught stealing second. Two baserunners, two outs on the bases, no run.

5th Inning
The defense finally broke the scoreless tie in Detroit's favor. Salvy dropped a foul ball for one error, then Arroyo committed another on Luis Urías’ grounder. McCutchen followed with an RBI single, scoring Ramón Urías. Marsh struck out Nido and Keith to contain the inning, and the run was unearned, but Detroit led 1–0. We threatened immediately. Perez singled, and Garcia walked, but Haggerty grounded into a double play before Waters struck out. Another inning with traffic ended empty.

6th Inning
Noah Cameron took over and worked around a leadoff walk to Leonard, getting Schwarber and Parker Meadows on fly balls before striking out Ramón Urías. Then the offense finally gave the game a different shape. Pasquantino singled, Arroyo followed with another hit, and the runners advanced on the throw. Massey struck out, but Lane Thomas lifted a sacrifice fly to tie the game. Austin Meadows added an infield single, and Salvy singled Arroyo home. Garcia walked to load the bases, but Haggerty struck out with three aboard. We had the lead, 2–1, but left the inning knowing it could have been more.

7th Inning
The lead lasted only a few batters. Cameron struck out Luis Urías, then allowed singles to McCutchen and Nido. He retired pinch-hitter Wilmer Flores, but walked Colt Keith to load the bases. Leonard doubled to right and cleared all three runners. Huascar Brazoban entered and got Schwarber to pop out, but Detroit had flipped the game to 4–2.
Pasquantino doubled again in the bottom half—his third extra-base hit of the night—but Arroyo grounded out, and Massey struck out. The opportunity remained stranded.

8th Inning
Brazoban's inning came apart immediately. Parker Meadows singled, Ramón Urías doubled, and Luis Urías launched a three-run home run. In three batters, Detroit stretched the lead to 7–2. Brazoban recovered to retire the next three, but the damage looked decisive.
We refused to fold. Mark Payton pinch-hit and singled, then Austin Meadows ripped an RBI triple. Perez followed with a sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to 7–4. It was not enough yet, but the dugout had a pulse again.

9th Inning
Brennan Bernardino worked around Garcia's error by getting Schwarber to ground into a double play. That gave the offense one last chance with the deficit still at three.
Kyle Isbel struck out, and Pasquantino doubled for his fourth hit of the night. He had to leave after the play with an upper-body injury, forcing Devin Mann into the game as the pinch runner. Arroyo struck out, but Massey singled and brought Payton to the plate as the tying run. Payton turned on Sosa's pitch and drove it 417 feet to center for a three-run home run. Tie game, 7–7.

Austin Meadows doubled, and Perez walked, putting the winning run in scoring position. Detroit went to Alex Lange, who struck out Davis Schneider and carried the game into extras. The comeback was complete, but the winning blow never arrived.

10th Inning
With the automatic runner at second, Parker Meadows doubled on Bernardino's first batter and scored Schwarber to put Detroit back ahead 8–7. Bernardino retired the next three, but the Tigers had reclaimed the lead without needing a second hit.

Davis Schneider began the bottom half at second. Haggerty grounded out without advancing him, Isbel lined out to right, and Mann struck out looking. After all the ninth-inning noise, the tenth ended without the tying runner moving. Detroit took the game and the series.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 7, Tigers 8
Royals (16 H, 3 E) | Tigers (11 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Mark Payton

Notable Royals: Payton came off the bench and went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, a single, and the game-tying three-run homer. Pasquantino went 4-for-5 with three doubles before leaving injured. Austin Meadows collected three hits, including an RBI triple and a double, while Salvy went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk. Kansas City finished with 16 hits, but left 11 runners aboard, committed three errors, and lost two runners trying to steal.

Notable Tigers: Detroit received a bases-clearing double from Leonard, a three-run homer from Luis Urías, and the winning tenth-inning double from Parker Meadows.



Winning Pitcher: Alex Lange, 4–0
Losing Pitcher: Brennan Bernardino, 0–1
Blown Saves: Will Vest, 3; Listher Sosa, 3

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec           IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
A. Marsh                         5.0    4    1    0    2    3    0    88   6.00
N. Cameron                       1.2    3    3    3    2    2    0    43   3.93
H. Brazoban                      1.1    3    3    3    0    2    1    27   6.08
B. Bernardino     L (0-1)        2.0    1    1    0    0    1    0    20   4.13

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

• Marsh answered the emergency call. Five innings, one unearned run, and a chance to win. His control was not perfect, but he gave the rotation exactly what it needed after Eflin's loss and the recent starter failures.

• The bullpen lost another winnable game. Cameron and Brazoban combined to allow six earned runs over three innings. A 2–1 lead became a 7–2 deficit before the offense could settle into the game.

• Payton delivered one of the season’s biggest swings. His ninth-inning homer erased a three-run deficit and temporarily saved the game. He had entered as a pinch hitter one inning earlier and finished as the official Player of the Game despite the loss.

• Pasquantino’s injury may be the larger defeat. Vinnie left after his fourth hit and third double of the night with an upper-body injury. We now wait for Pat Rose's diagnosis. With Bobby Witt Jr. already unavailable, losing another central bat would be another brutal hit to the final-week lineup.

• The defense gave Detroit its first run. Errors by Perez and Arroyo turned Marsh's fifth inning into an unearned deficit. Garcia added another error in the ninth. Three errors in a one-run extra-inning loss cannot be separated from the result.

• The baserunning remains a problem. Thomas and Austin Meadows were both caught stealing in the fourth. We are trying to create pressure, but aggressive baseball without clean reads only shortens innings.

• Sixteen hits should win the game. We scored seven, tied it in the ninth, and still lost. Eleven left on base and a scoreless tenth prevented a strong offensive night from becoming a season-saving win.

• Detroit takes the direct series. We entered believing this set could determine the season. We won one, lost two, and now leave the matchup with less control over our own October path.


Around the League

Atlanta officially secured its 38th National League East crown at 85–67. The division had been leaning toward the Braves for some time, but the clinch now allows the organization to turn its full attention toward pursuing a fifth championship.

St. Louis also locked down the National League Central, reaching 92–59 and earning the franchise's 31st division title. Whatever internal imperfections may exist in that clubhouse, the Cardinals completed the regular-season job and will be playing in October.

Those celebrations feel distant from our room tonight. Other clubs are securing their places. We are still trying to keep ours from slipping away—and waiting to learn whether Pasquantino will be available for the final fight.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 153



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Friday, September 26 • Game 1👑

The Giants' Adam Duvall's 11th-inning single sends the Royals to a 3–2 loss.

San Francisco Giants at Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 64 degrees | Wind: Right to left at 10 mph | Attendance: 37,745 | First pitch: 7:10 PM CT
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

The off day did not bring rest so much as a longer stack of decisions.
Spencer Turnbull had reminded me that he wants to remain in Kansas City and asked us to begin talking about an extension. That is a workable conversation, depending on where the Zach Eflin decision ultimately lands. Turnbull has filled almost every role we have asked of him this season—starter, stabilizer, and now emergency rotation support—and I expect he will receive a serious offer when the larger pitching budget is settled.

The medical news on Vinnie Pasquantino was less helpful. Pat Rose diagnosed a strained rib-cage muscle that should keep him day-to-day for roughly two weeks. It is considered minimal, but “minimal” does not mean harmless when it affects both hitting and running and only nine games remain. Vinnie has been one of our steady offensive pillars all year. Now Devin Mann becomes the immediate first-base answer, trusting the depth that has rotated through the position since his May arrival.

Bobby Witt Jr. may be eligible to return in five days, but eligibility and wisdom are not the same thing. The question is no longer simply whether he can play. It is whether bringing him back for a fading Wild Card push is worth placing the franchise's most important player at additional risk. That decision has to balance the manager's need for his bat with the general manager's responsibility to protect the years still ahead.

The magic numbers have reached single digits, but they feel much larger. Ours sat at six. Detroit's was three. Six of our final nine games would come on the road, and this Giants series represented the last homestand checkpoint. At this point, the roster in the room either gets us across the threshold, or we rebuild the formula differently next year.

San Francisco Giants Series Snapshot

San Francisco arrived at Kauffman playing .536 baseball with an 82–71 record, second in the National League West and nine games behind the division leader. The Giants’ strength was clearly on the offensive side: 803 runs scored ranked third in the National League, while their .264 team batting average ranked second.

Their pitching profile offered more opportunity. The Giants had allowed 760 runs, ranking 13th in the league. Their rotation carried a 4.38 ERA, fifth in the NL, while the bullpen’s 4.79 ERA ranked tenth. This was not an opponent we needed to fear, but it was one we could not afford to let hang around.

The projected series board:
LHP Jordan Montgomery vs. RHP Tristan Beck
RHP Spencer Turnbull vs. RHP Dylan Cease
RHP Brady Singer vs. RHP Camilo Doval

Their leading personnel file began with catcher Patrick Bailey, center fielder Jung-hoo Lee, starter Kyle Harrison, second baseman Ha-seong Kim, and right fielder Luis Matos. San Francisco brought a balanced lineup, enough speed to pressure the bases, and a club fighting to preserve its own postseason lane.

For us, there was no room to treat this as an interleague curiosity. Every remaining game had become part of the same October ledger.
________________________________________


Series Matchup Board — Game 1

LHP Jordan Montgomery — 15–8, 4.05 ERA entering the series vs. RHP Tristan Beck — 1–3, 4.30 ERA entering the series

Montgomery delivered another outing worthy of the front of the rotation. He worked six-plus innings, allowing five hits, one earned run, one walk, and striking out eight on 94 pitches. He kept San Francisco scoreless through six and left only after Jung-hoo Lee doubled to begin the seventh. His game score of 65 reflected what the dugout already knew: he had done enough to win.

Beck matched him for most of the night. He allowed five hits and two earned runs over 5.2 innings, walking one and striking out six. Both Kansas City runs came in the sixth, when Massey homered and Haggerty singled home Schneider. Kyle Wright then supplied 3.1 scoreless innings, and the Giants’ late bullpen carried the game through extras.


Game Day Log — Royals vs. Giants (Game 1)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Montgomery allowed a one-out single to Jared Triolo, who stole second, but Luis Matos popped out and Adam Duvall struck out looking. It was an immediate test of Montgomery’s ability to work with a runner in scoring position, and he handled it without allowing the inning to widen.

Our top went in order against Beck. Garcia struck out looking, Payton drove a hard fly ball to center, and Massey popped out. Scoreless after one.

2nd Inning
Montgomery settled fully into rhythm, striking out Chas McCormick and Tyler Fitzgerald around a Jung-hoo Lee groundout.

Davis Schneider opened the bottom half with a single, but Meadows flew out, Haggerty struck out, and Isbel popped up. Our first baserunner stayed at first.

3rd Inning
Ha-seong Kim reached on an infield single with two outs, but Montgomery retired Triolo on a fly ball. Another quiet zero.

Garcia walked with two outs in our half, and Payton followed with a sharp single. Garcia advanced to third, putting runners at the corners, but Massey flew out. It was the first real opening, and Beck closed it.

4th Inning
Montgomery retired Matos, Duvall, and McCormick in order, finishing the inning with another strikeout.

Schneider produced a long plate appearance and another single, then stole second. But Meadows and Haggerty struck out before Isbel grounded out. Once again, a runner reached scoring position and stayed there.

5th Inning
Montgomery continued to control the game. Lee struck out looking, Fitzgerald grounded out, and after a walk to Tom Murphy, Joey Bart struck out to end the inning.

We went quietly in the bottom half. Mann and Dingler struck out around Garcia’s groundout. Five innings, no score, and both starters fully in command.

6th Inning
San Francisco finally applied heavier pressure. Matos and Duvall singled with two outs, putting runners at second and third after the advance, but McCormick flew out to center. Montgomery walked off having protected the shutout. The offense then gave him the lead.

Payton grounded out, and Massey turned on a Beck pitch for his 33rd home run of the season, driving it 381 feet to right. Schneider doubled immediately afterward. Meadows flew out, but Haggerty singled Schneider home to make it 2–0. Haggerty was then caught stealing to end the inning, but for the moment we had the game in our hands.

7th Inning
Lee doubled to open the inning, ending Montgomery’s night. Ryan Walker entered and struck out Fitzgerald and pinch-hitter Lawrence Butler, putting us one out from preserving the two-run lead.

Then Joey Bart changed the game. He drove a two-run homer 403 feet to left-center, tying it 2–2. Dingler later committed an error on a foul ball, but Walker got Kim to pop out. The lead was gone, and Montgomery’s strong line had been turned into a no-decision.

Isbel singled in the bottom half and reached second on Dingler’s groundout, but Garcia grounded out. No counterpunch.

8th Inning
Triolo singled to begin the inning, and I went to Fernando Cruz. He got Matos to ground into a 4-6-3 double play and retired Duvall on a fly ball. The bullpen steadied the game after Walker’s blown save.

Massey singled with one out in the bottom half and advanced on Schneider’s groundout, but Meadows struck out. Another runner left in scoring position.

9th Inning
Cruz struck out McCormick, retired Lee, and then allowed singles to Fitzgerald and Edouard Julien. Isbel helped rescue the inning with a strong throw that cut down the trailing runner at second. San Francisco threatened without scoring.

Our ninth disappeared quickly. Haggerty grounded out before Waters and Perez struck out as pinch hitters. Extras again.

10th Inning
James McArthur entered with the automatic runner at second. Joey Bart bunted Julien to third, but McArthur got Kim to pop out and Triolo to fly out. Three pitches, one clean extra-inning escape—and then another injury concern, as McArthur left the game having been hurt while pitching.

We began the bottom half with Perez at second. Dingler failed twice to get the bunt down and struck out. Garcia walked, creating another possible lane, but Perez was caught stealing third during Payton’s plate appearance. Payton then flew out. The inning ended with another baserunning out taking the lead runner off the field.

11th Inning
John Schreiber took over with Triolo at second. Matos grounded out, moving the runner to third, and Adam Duvall followed with a line-drive single to left that scored the go-ahead run.

Schreiber walked McCormick and Lee to load the bases but escaped further damage by retiring Fitzgerald and Julien. The game remained within one run, but the offense had to answer.

Payton began the bottom half at second. Massey flew out to right without advancing him. Schneider grounded out, and Meadows flew out to center. The automatic runner never moved.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 2, Giants 3 (11 innings)
Royals (8 H, 1 E) | Giants (10 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Jordan Montgomery

Notable Royals: Massey finished 2-for-5 with his 33rd home run, while Schneider went 3-for-5 with a double, a stolen base, and a run scored. Haggerty supplied the second RBI, and Payton and Isbel each added a hit.

Notable Giants: San Francisco's decisive production came from Bart's two-run seventh-inning homer and Duvall's go-ahead single in the 11th.



Winning Pitcher: Chris Martin, 3–1
Losing Pitcher: John Schreiber, 0–2
Save: Robert Stephenson, 37
Blown Save: Ryan Walker, 1

Montgomery's line—six innings, one run, eight strikeouts—was the strongest Kansas City performance of the night.

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec           IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
J. Montgomery                    6.0    5    1    1    1    8    0    94   3.97
R. Walker          BS (1)        1.0    2    1    1    0    2    1    19   2.38
F. Cruz                          2.0    2    0    0    0    1    0    19   4.09
J. McArthur                      1.0    0    0    0    0    0    0     3   1.53
J. Schreiber      L (0-2)        1.0    1    1    0    2    0    0    28   3.21

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

Baseball offers no relief for good intentions. We managed the starter, used the bullpen by leverage, and entered extras tied at home. None of that changed the result. Another injury struck, another runner was thrown out, and another October opportunity slipped away. The magic number did not move in our favor. This was another home game we could not afford to lose, especially after Montgomery put us in position to take it.

• Montgomery deserved the win. He held San Francisco scoreless through six and left only after the leadoff double in the seventh. Eight strikeouts, one walk, and enough command to control a dangerous lineup.

• Walker was one strike away from protecting the lead. He retired the first two hitters he faced, then Bart tied the game with one swing. In September, the bridge can collapse that quickly.

• The offense produced only one scoring inning. Massey and Schneider created the sixth, and Haggerty finished it. Outside that frame, Kansas City put runners in scoring position repeatedly without converting.

• The baserunning cost us again. Haggerty was caught stealing after his RBI single, and Perez was thrown out trying to take third in the tenth. The late out was especially damaging because it removed the automatic runner from scoring position.

• McArthur's injury adds another bullpen concern. He escaped the tenth with only three pitches but left injured. The early indication is a minimal issue that may cost him two days, but even a brief absence matters with a bullpen already stretched thin.

• Schreiber limited the damage, but the automatic runner scored. Duvall's single was the only hit he allowed, yet it was the hit that decided the game. Two walks afterward made the inning more difficult than it needed to be.

• Pasquantino's absence was noticeable. Mann filled the position, but Vinnie's bat and plate presence were missing from the middle of the order. With Bobby Witt Jr. still unavailable, each lost regular further compresses the lineup.


Around the League

Tampa Bay received confirmation that Niko Goodrum will miss the remainder of the season with a broken kneecap suffered on September 24. Goodrum had been hitting .322 with 19 hits in 59 at-bats, and his loss creates another postseason roster issue for the AL East champions.

Cincinnati shortstop Edwin Arroyo suffered a strained hamstring in a collision against Pittsburgh and could miss as many as four weeks. Arroyo had built a strong season, batting .276 with 18 home runs, 78 RBIs, 103 runs, and a .330 on-base percentage. The injury arrives just as Cincinnati tries to hold its late-season position.

San Diego's Xander Bogaerts produced one of the day's largest offensive performances, collecting five hits in a 6–5, 11-inning win over the White Sox. His night included a double, a solo homer, two RBI singles, and the kind of extra-inning production Kansas City could not find at Kauffman.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 154



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Saturday, September 27 • Game 2👑

Another defensive mistake and a stranded rally leave Kansas City one run short.

San Francisco Giants at Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Clear skies, 65 degrees | Wind: Out to center at 10 mph | Attendance: 37,568 | First pitch: 6:10 PM CT
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

Another loss in the first game of our final homestand series did nothing to settle the building. Friday's game was close enough to feel like it belonged to us: Jordan Montgomery gave us six strong innings, we carried a two-run lead into the seventh, and then one bullpen swing turned the night. The Giants tied it, we failed to move the automatic runner in the tenth, and Adam Duvall's single finished us in the eleventh.

That loss brought the season's strain back into full view. Vinnie Pasquantino remained limited by the rib-cage injury. James McArthur had joined the daily medical board after hurting himself during his brief extra-inning appearance. The bullpen was thin, the lineup was missing central pieces, and the Wild Card margin was becoming less a cushion than a closing door.

The standings had become brutal. The American League Central remained the last undecided division, with Detroit and Cleveland tied at the top, while we sat four games behind and trending downward. Every other division had already produced a champion. We were still trying to prove we belonged in the tournament at all. After three straight losses, the uncomfortable truth was beginning to settle in: this could become the season where we controlled our path for months and then choked away the berth at the finish.

Spencer Turnbull's rotation turn should have come tonight, but he had not recovered enough from his recent workload. That moved Hunter Brown into the start on six days' rest. On paper, the extra recovery offered an advantage. On the field, theory only matters when command, defense, and timely hitting accompany it.

Lately, our execution has left too much room between the plan and the result.

San Francisco Giants Series Snapshot

San Francisco entered Game 2 having taken the opener 3–2 in eleven innings. The Giants arrived in Kansas City with one of the National League's better offenses, ranking third in runs scored and second in batting average. Their pitching numbers suggested opportunity, but they had already shown that their bullpen could survive a close game long enough for the lineup to find the decisive hit.

The original series board had listed Jordan Montgomery against Tristan Beck, Spencer Turnbull against Dylan Cease, and Brady Singer against Camilo Doval. Turnbull's lack of rest forced us off that path, moving Hunter Brown into the middle game. That adjustment was necessary, but it also placed another layer of uncertainty onto a club already trying to manage around Eflin's shoulder, Pasquantino's rib cage, McArthur's latest injury, and Bobby Witt Jr.'s possible—but not guaranteed—return.

San Francisco had not overwhelmed us in the opener. They had simply played cleaner baseball when the game reached its leverage innings. That made tonight less about facing an unbeatable opponent and more about correcting our own recurring failures: early defensive leakage, wasted runners, and an offense that waited too long to respond.
________________________________________


Series Matchup Board — Game 2

• RHP Hunter Brown vs. RHP Dylan Cease

Brown's outing was difficult to classify. He struck out eight over five innings and allowed only four hits, but he also walked five, hit a batter, and required 104 pitches. Three runs crossed while he was on the mound, though only two were earned because the first inning was extended by Davis Schneider's error. His game score was 52, and the loss dropped him to 5–8 with a 4.87 ERA.

Cease gave San Francisco exactly what an opponent needs during our current offensive funk. He worked 7.1 innings, scattered eight hits, walked one, struck out five, and allowed two runs. We did not score until Kyle Isbel's homer in the eighth. Chris Martin entered with the potential tying run aboard, stranded him, and retired the side in the ninth to earn the save.


Game Day Log — Royals vs. Giants (Game 2)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
The game began with the same kind of self-inflicted pressure that has followed us through September. Jung-hoo Lee singled, Edouard Julien bunted him to second, and Luis Matos walked. Adam Duvall then hit a hard ground ball that Schneider mishandled at third, loading the bases. Tyler Fitzgerald followed with an RBI single, scoring Lee. Brown struck out Chas McCormick and Patrick Bailey to strand three, but San Francisco had turned one error into the first run of the game. Giants led 1–0. We had an immediate chance to answer. Garcia tripled to open the bottom half, and the dugout finally had the kind of early pressure we had been asking for. Massey lifted a fly ball to center, Garcia tagged, and Lee threw him out at home. Payton then flew out. A leadoff triple became a scoreless inning. One defensive mistake gave them a run; one baserunning gamble took ours away.

2nd Inning
Brown worked around a hit batter and a stolen base, getting Kim on a groundout, striking out Triolo, and retiring Julien on a line drive. Cease retired Salvy, Austin Meadows, and Haggerty in order. The Giants' one-run lead remained intact.

3rd Inning
Brown delivered his cleanest inning, retiring Matos, Duvall, and Fitzgerald without allowing a runner. Kyle Isbel doubled with two outs in the bottom half, but Garcia struck out swinging. Another runner in scoring position stayed there.

4th Inning
Brown struck out McCormick and Bailey, then surrendered a double to Ha-seong Kim. He recovered by striking out Triolo, giving him three strikeouts in the inning and preserving the one-run deficit. Massey singled to open our half, but Payton struck out, and Perez flew out. Massey then tried to steal second and was caught. It was another inning shortened by aggression without payoff.

5th Inning
The game stretched away from us here. Brown walked Lee, and after Julien failed to advance him with a bunt attempt, Matos popped out. Duvall then doubled into the gap, scoring Lee and moving to third on the throw. A passed ball by Perez brought Duvall home. Brown then walked Fitzgerald, McCormick, and Bailey, loading the bases before striking out Kim to escape. Two runs scored on only one hit, with the walks and passed ball doing most of the damage. Giants led 3–0. Austin Meadows singled in the bottom half. Haggerty forced him at second, stole second, and moved to third on Schneider's flyout. Mann grounded out, leaving another runner 90 feet away.

6th Inning
Brennan Bernardino entered and delivered the clean bridge we needed, striking out Triolo and Julien around a flyout from Lee. We went in order against Cease. Isbel flew out, Garcia grounded out, and Massey flew out. Six innings had passed, and we had five hits without a run.

7th Inning
Bernardino allowed a single to Duvall but retired Matos, Fitzgerald, and McCormick. His work kept the deficit from growing and gave the offense a chance to find one late swing. Payton singled in the bottom half, but Perez immediately grounded into a double play. Austin Meadows then doubled with two outs, only to leave the game with a bruised toe after reaching second. Drew Waters entered to run, and Haggerty flew out. Another scoring chance disappeared—and another player joined the injury list.

8th Inning
Bernardino retired Bailey before Anderson Paulino entered and finished the frame with two quick flyouts. The bullpen had given us three scoreless innings and kept the game within one rally. Christian Arroyo pinch-hit for Schneider and doubled to begin the bottom half. Mann moved him to third on a groundout. Then Isbel finally gave the crowd something to hold onto, driving a two-run homer 401 feet to left. The deficit was suddenly 3–2. Garcia walked, and San Francisco went to Chris Martin. Massey singled, putting runners at the corners. Payton hit a grounder to second, and Garcia was forced out at home. Salvy then struck out with two aboard. The tying run reached third and stayed there.

9th Inning
Paulino walked Lee, but Perez threw him out attempting to steal second. Julien and Matos grounded out, giving us one final clean chance. Martin did not allow the bottom of the order to start anything. Lane Thomas grounded out, Haggerty struck out looking, and Arroyo struck out looking. The late rally never reached a second inning.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 2, Giants 3
Royals (9 H, 1 E) | Giants (5 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Dylan Cease

Notable Royals: Isbel supplied almost all of Kansas City's scoring production, going 2-for-3 with a double and his ninth home run, a two-run shot in the eighth. Garcia tripled and walked but was thrown out at home twice—once attempting to score on a sacrifice fly and again on Payton's eighth-inning ground ball. Massey added two hits, while Austin Meadows recorded a single and a double before leaving injured.

Notable Giants: San Francisco managed only five hits, but converted Schneider's first-inning error, Duvall's fifth-inning double, and Perez's passed ball into all three runs.



Winning Pitcher: Dylan Cease, 11–10
Losing Pitcher: Hunter Brown, 5–8
Save: Chris Martin, 2

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec           IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
H. Brown          L (5-8)        5.0    4    3    2    5    8    0   104   4.87
B. Bernardino                    2.1    1    0    0    0    3    0    32   3.86
A. Paulino                       1.2    0    0    0    1    0    0    17   3.65

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

Our season is slipping through small cracks. An error, a passed ball, a runner thrown out at home, and a rally that ends with men at the corners. None appears fatal alone. Together, they keep producing one-run losses. The losing streak has reached four. Three straight at home have followed the Pittsburgh and Detroit damage. With the schedule almost gone, there is no longer enough runway for extended corrections.

• Brown's eight strikeouts were buried beneath the walks. Five free passes and 104 pitches over five innings forced too many stressful counts. The raw stuff was present; the efficiency was not.

• The first inning set the tone again. Schneider's error loaded the bases and led to an unearned run. We then opened our half with a triple and ran into an out at home. Two execution failures created the early scoreboard difference.

• The fifth inning was avoidable. Duvall's double hurt, but the walks and passed ball turned one strong swing into a two-run inning. San Francisco scored three runs despite collecting only five hits all night.

• Isbel gave us the only real counterpunch. His eighth-inning homer changed the atmosphere immediately and brought the tying run within reach. He continues to supply useful production from the bottom of the order.

• The eighth-inning opportunity was the game. Garcia and Massey reached after Isbel's homer, putting runners at the corners. Payton's grounder cut down Garcia, and Perez struck out. That was the chance to turn one swing into a comeback.

• Bernardino and Paulino did their jobs. Four combined scoreless innings, only one hit allowed, and enough stability to keep the game alive. Paulino's late work continues to strengthen his case as a legitimate bullpen candidate for next season.

• Austin Meadows is the latest injury. He left after his seventh-inning double with a bruised toe. The diagnosis is not severe, but another unavailable bat feels absurd at this point. The injury bug is not merely visiting; it has taken up residence.


Around the League

Around the league, divisions are being won, and playoff rotations are being arranged. In Kansas City, the Central remains undecided—but our position in that fight is fading. Detroit and Cleveland are tied at the top, while we stand four games behind, carrying four straight losses and a shrinking number of opportunities to change the ending.

Texas officially secured the American League West championship with an 82–72 record, earning the tenth division title in franchise history. The Rangers now turn their attention to pursuing a second World Series championship, with their clubhouse crediting a season-long focus on treating every game with championship-level urgency.

Arizona also clinched the National League West at 92–62, capturing the sixth division championship in franchise history. The Diamondbacks can now set their rotation and roster for October while pursuing the organization's second World Series title.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 155



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Sunday, September 28 • Game 3👑

San Francisco completes the sweep that leaves Kansas City's October hopes barely breathing.

San Francisco Giants at Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Clear skies, 67 degrees | Wind: Out to center at 7 mph | Attendance: 31,601 | First pitch: 1:10 PM CT
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

The season felt close to decided before the first pitch.

We entered the day 9–15 in September, a little more than one win for every two losses during the month that was supposed to carry us into October. That is not the profile of a contender. It is not sustainable baseball, and it is not the finish this roster had spent five months building toward. Even if we somehow squeezed through the Wild Card door, I was no longer sure we were playing well enough—or staying healthy enough—to survive once we got there.

The swingman shuffle continued. Luinder Avila received his 15th major-league start, which in my mind settled one important piece of next year's planning. He is no longer a temporary depth arm or an emergency answer. Across his starts and relief work, he has shown enough poise, command, and durability to earn a regular place in the 2026 rotation conversation.

The problem has not been Avila. It has been everything around him.

The lineup has absorbed injuries to Bobby Witt Jr., Vinnie Pasquantino, Austin Meadows, and others at the worst possible time. Bats that carried us through the summer have cooled together. The baserunning has become careless. The bullpen has lost both health and reliability. Every adjustment seems to create another opening somewhere else.

I still did not know exactly how to judge this September fall off the cliff. Fatigue, injuries, bad timing, and poor execution all belong in the file. What I did know was that the outcome of this game would tell us nearly everything about the rest of the week.

Win, and maybe we could carry one breath of hope onto the road. Lose, and the final homestand would end as a full San Francisco sweep, with October slipping farther beyond our control.

San Francisco Giants Series Snapshot

San Francisco entered the finale having won the first two games by entirely different methods.

Friday was a 3–2, 11-inning game in which Jordan Montgomery gave us a lead, Joey Bart tied it, and Adam Duvall delivered the extra-inning winner. Saturday followed the same score but a different path: Hunter Brown fought his command, San Francisco scored three on only five hits, and Kyle Isbel's late homer could not rescue the night.

The Giants had already secured the series and were now playing for the sweep and their own National League postseason positioning. Their lineup had produced only modest totals through the first two games, but it consistently took advantage of mistakes, free bases, and late bullpen openings.

We needed one complete day: Avila to work deep, the offense to score before the late innings, and the bullpen to protect whatever margin remained.
________________________________________

Series Matchup Board — Game 3

• RHP Luinder Avila vs. RHP Camilo Doval

Avila gave us 6.1 innings, allowing only three hits and three earned runs while walking three and striking out seven on 99 pitches. Adam Duvall's second-inning homer was the only damage through six. Avila entered the seventh protecting a 2–1 lead, but a single and two walks loaded the bases before James McArthur inherited the inning. Two of those runners scored, leaving Avila with the loss despite another competitive start.

Doval worked only 3.1 innings, allowing four hits and two runs, both on solo home runs by Davis Schneider and Mark Payton. Robbie Ray followed with 3.2 perfect innings and six strikeouts, completely shutting off the middle of the Kansas City lineup. Spencer Howard handled the final two innings and allowed one run.

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

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Avila allowed a one-out single to Edouard Julien but got Luis Matos to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. It was the clean, efficient start we needed. We went in order against Doval. Garcia grounded out, Massey grounded out, and Payton rolled one to first. Scoreless after one.

2nd Inning
Adam Duvall opened the inning with a 423-foot solo homer to center. Avila responded by striking out Chas McCormick and Lawrence Butler, then worked around a walk to Patrick Bailey. The Giants led 1–0, but Avila kept the inning from growing. Austin Meadows doubled with one out in our half, only to be caught trying to steal third during Haggerty's plate appearance. Haggerty later struck out. Another extra-base hit disappeared without producing a run.

3rd Inning
Avila retired San Francisco in order. Davis Schneider then supplied the first Kansas City answer, driving a Doval pitch 435 feet for a solo home run. Devin Mann followed with a double, but Isbel struck out, Garcia flew out, and Massey grounded out after a long battle. The game was tied 1–1, though the opportunity for a larger inning had passed.

4th Inning
Matos was hit by a pitch, but Salvy threw him out trying to steal second. Avila struck out Duvall and retired McCormick to complete the inning. Payton then gave us the lead with another solo shot, this one traveling 417 feet to right-center. Robbie Ray entered after Salvy grounded out and retired Meadows and Haggerty. Royals led 2–1.

5th Inning
Avila worked his sharpest inning, retiring Butler, Bailey, and Liover Peguero in order, finishing with a strikeout. Ray struck out Schneider, Mann, and Isbel in succession. The lead remained one run, but the lineup had started to go quiet.

6th Inning
Avila retired the top of the order in another clean frame, striking out Triolo and Julien around a Kim flyout. Through six, he had allowed only the Duvall homer. Ray continued to dominate, retiring Garcia, Massey, and Payton. We still led 2–1, but the offense had not added any margin since the fourth.

7th Inning
The game changed here.

Avila walked Matos, then struck out Duvall. Jung-hoo Lee singled, and Butler worked another walk to load the bases. With Avila at 99 pitches, I went to McArthur. Patrick Bailey attacked the first pitch and singled through the middle. Matos scored, Lee scored, and San Francisco took a 3–2 lead. McArthur got Peguero on a fielder's choice at home and struck out Triolo, but the bridge had already failed. Both inherited runners scored, and Avila's lead was gone.

We went quietly in the bottom half. Perez struck out, Meadows grounded out, and Haggerty popped up. The game had flipped, and the lineup offered no immediate response.

8th Inning
McArthur hit Kim, then gave up a single to Matos after Julien failed to advance the runner. Duvall singled home two runs, pushing the Giants ahead 5–2. Lee forced Duvall at second, stole second, and scored when Butler doubled down the line. Three runs crossed in the inning. San Francisco led 6–2, and the homestand began to feel finished. We managed one answer. Mann singled, Isbel was hit by a pitch, and Garcia singled Mann home. But Massey and Payton both flew out, leaving two aboard. We had reduced the deficit to 6–3 without creating a true rally.

9th Inning
Fernando Cruz entered to get us off the field and into the final at-bat. Instead, the inning widened again. Cruz struck out Peguero, then walked Triolo. After Kim flew out, Julien walked. Matos doubled both runners home, then scored on a wild pitch. Duvall struck out, but three more runs had crossed. The Giants led 9–3.

Drew Waters and Lane Thomas struck out as pinch hitters in the bottom half, and Haggerty flew out to right. No rally. No final push. Just the last out of a swept final homestand.

________________________________________

Final

Royals 3, Giants 9
Royals (6 H, 0 E) | Giants (8 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Luis Matos

Notable Giants: Matos finished 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, a hit-by-pitch, three runs scored, and two RBIs. Duvall went 2-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs, while Bailey delivered the two-run single that changed the game in the seventh.

Notable Royals: Schneider and Payton hit solo home runs, while Mann collected two hits and scored the eighth-inning run. Garcia drove in the final Royals run. The rest of the lineup combined for only two hits.



Winning Pitcher: Robbie Ray, 3–1
Losing Pitcher: Luinder Avila, 5–8
Blown Save: James McArthur, 1

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec          IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
L. Avila          L (5-8)       6.1    3    3    3    3    7    1    99   3.87
J. McArthur       BS (1)        1.2    4    3    3    0    1    0    38   2.79
F. Cruz                         1.0    1    3    3    2    2    0    30   6.00

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Front Office Note / Takeaways

The final homestand ends in a sweep, and our fate is no longer ours alone. Detroit took two of three. San Francisco took all three. Instead of using Kauffman to stabilize the race, we leave home carrying five straight losses. The standings may not yet say "eliminated," but the September record, the injuries, and the remaining schedule have pushed this season to the edge. The road trip now feels less like a playoff charge and more like an attempt to keep the ending respectable.

• Avila deserved better than the final line. Six strong innings and a one-run lead gave us a legitimate chance to salvage the series. His seventh-inning traffic created the risk, but the bullpen had an opportunity to protect him.

• McArthur betrayed the leverage assignment. He had been one of the relievers I trusted most recently. Tonight, he allowed four hits and three earned runs in 1.2 innings, including Bailey's go-ahead single and Duvall's two-run hit.

• The inherited runners were the pivot. Avila left with the bases loaded and one out. McArthur allowed two of the three to score immediately. The lead vanished before the inning could be stabilized.

• The offense produced only solo power. Schneider and Payton gave us the lead, but both home runs came with the bases empty. Ray then retired all 11 hitters he faced and struck out six.

• The second-inning baserunning mistake mattered. Meadows doubled and was caught trying to steal third. It removed a runner from scoring position in a game that remained one-run tight until the seventh.

• The eighth inning was too little, too late. Mann, Isbel, and Garcia created a run and left two aboard. Massey and Payton could not extend the inning.

• Cruz did not merely finish the loss—he enlarged it. Two walks, Matos' double, and a wild pitch turned a three-run deficit into six. The bullpen allowed eight runs over the final 2.2 innings.

• Avila belongs in the 2026 rotation conversation. His 15th start confirmed the body of work. The club did not support him tonight, but his season has earned more than an emergency label.


Around the League

Paul Goldschmidt reached one of baseball's major career milestones, hitting his 400th home run as St. Louis defeated Cleveland 7–1. Goldschmidt went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and now owns 2,210 career hits, 400 home runs, and 1,314 RBIs.

Cleveland clinched a postseason berth despite the loss. The Guardians' larger target remains the American League Central title, but they have officially secured a postseason berth, while our position continues to weaken.

Philadelphia was formally eliminated from postseason contention, missing the playoffs for a second straight year. The Phillies' elimination is another reminder of how abruptly a season's possibilities become final. One day, the math still leaves a chance. Next, the door is closed.

We have not received that official notice yet. But after a 9–15 September start and a swept final homestand, it feels close enough to hear it coming.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 156



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Tuesday, September 30 • Game 1👑

The Royals rout Washington to end the slide.

Kansas City Royals at Washington Nationals | Nationals Park
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 66 degrees | Wind: Out to right at 9 mph | Attendance: 12,852 | First pitch: 6:45 PM ET
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

This road series may only confirm what felt decided two nights ago at Kauffman: our 2025 season is running out of road, and the Wild Card doorway is nearly closed.

The official standings had not eliminated us yet. Cleveland had secured a postseason berth but could still surrender the division to Detroit, leaving the possibility—however strained—that we could meet the Guardians in a Wild Card series. The run differential remained close enough to Detroit's to suggest the clubs were built in the same neighborhood. The separator was what happened after the All-Star break, in extra innings, and in the leverage moments where a contender has to prove itself. Detroit had done that better than we had. With six games remaining, the division path is effectively a mathematical long shot; Cleveland's magic number is 6, while we would need to win nearly everything and receive substantial help from both clubs above us.

I sat with the front office staff and presented some analysis of our current wild card and expanded standings charts.

Figure 1. September 30 Standings Read — Division Slipping, Wild Card Still in Hand



Perspective: The graphic shows Kansas City at 82–74 (.526), third in the AL Central and 4½ games behind Cleveland, with Detroit sitting only a half-game behind the Guardians.

The Wild Card board is the more important position. We currently hold the second AL Wild Card spot, 1½ games above the cutoff. Detroit owns the top Wild Card lane at 86–70, while Boston is the first club beneath us, followed closely by Baltimore, half a game back, and Minnesota, 1½ games back. Our Wild Card magic number is 5, meaning the berth is still within our control, but there is almost no margin left for another prolonged stumble. A five-game losing streak at the end of September is not merely poor timing. It is how a team buries the margin it spent five months building.

Our +52 run differential remains the most encouraging underlying number. The club's Pythagorean record is 83–73, only one game better than its actual mark, which suggests the overall season record is legitimate rather than built on luck. The problem is not the full-season profile—it is the timing of the collapse.

The contrast around the All-Star break is severe:

• Before the break: 58–40
• After the break: 24–34
• Last 10 games: 1–9
• Current streak: five straight losses

This post-break record explains why a club with a healthy run differential and a strong first half is now fighting merely to preserve a Wild Card position.

The close-game data also separates us from Detroit. We are 6–6 in extra innings and 20–22 in one-run games, while Detroit is 10–4 in extras and 24–16 in one-run contests. Both clubs have similar overall run differentials—Detroit at +57, ours at +52—but Detroit has executed better in the leverage moments that often decide a playoff race. The +52-run differential says our team is better than its recent baseball.

We finished our home schedule at an excellent 49–32, but the road record is only 33–42. That is especially important because the remaining six games are all away from Kauffman: three at Washington, followed by three at Atlanta. Washington offers a softer portion of the finish, but Atlanta is the top-ranked club on the power board and will be a difficult final stop. One favorable matchup note is our 16–10 record against left-handed starters. The Nationals series is projected to feature three lefties—DJ Herz, Cristopher Sánchez, and MacKenzie Gore—so the schedule gives the offense a matchup profile it has handled well this year.

The final front office reading is that a division title is no longer the practical objective. The focus should be entirely on protecting the Wild Card cushion. We still control a postseason position, but the trend line is dangerous: a 1–9 stretch, a losing road record, and four clubs still close enough to apply pressure. The final six games will determine whether that full-season body of work earns an October berth—or whether the September collapse becomes the defining story of 2025.

Spencer Turnbull received the opener with two additional days of rest. The timing gave him another opportunity to support his request for an extension and show that he belongs in the next version of this rotation. He has been flexible, durable, and honest about wanting to remain in Kansas City. Tonight was a chance to put another strong line into that negotiation file. Paul Hoover and I adjusted the order again, trying to move the hotter bats toward the top and create pressure early. Lane Thomas leads off in his return to Washington, Christian Arroyo remains in the middle as one of our most reliable September hitters, and Devin Mann stays at first while Vinnie Pasquantino recovers.

So, I did not frame this series as a life-or-death situation, and there was no grand promise attached to the lineup card. We would play our game, use the roster we still had, and let the remaining baseballs fall where they may. I gave the team just one instruction: play clean baseball and see where it takes us.


Washington Nationals Series Snapshot

We opened a three-game road series at Nationals Park, a 41,222-seat ballpark that slightly favors hitters. Washington entered at 61–95, last in the National League East and 28½ games behind the division leader.

The Nationals scored 662 runs, ranking 14th in the National League, with a .245 team batting average ranked 12th. Their pitching staff offered the larger opportunity. Washington had allowed 843 runs, worst in the league, while its rotation carried a 4.65 ERA and its bullpen a 5.62 mark, ranking 12th and 15th, respectively.

The projected series board:
RHP Spencer Turnbull vs. LHP DJ Herz
RHP Hunter Brown vs. LHP Cristopher Sánchez
RHP Brady Singer vs. LHP MacKenzie Gore

Washington's strongest personnel file began with CJ Abrams, DJ Herz, Luis García Jr., Edgar Quero, and closer Michael McGreevy. The Nationals were well outside the playoff race, but that did not make them irrelevant. After being swept by New York, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco during this September collapse, we had already learned what can happen when a contender assumes a losing club will cooperate.

We cannot afford to leave Washington without a series win. Even with Detroit dropping two straight, there is no realistic way to treat Washington as the beginning of some dramatic final charge.
________________________________________

Series Matchup Board — Game 1

• RHP Spencer Turnbull — 14–9, 4.15 ERA entering the series vs. LHP DJ Herz — 6–8, 3.74 ERA entering the series

Turnbull gave us the kind of start that supports both a contract conversation and a struggling club. He completed six innings, allowing four hits and one earned run, walking two and striking out eight on 87 pitches. Daylen Lile's solo homer in the fifth was Washington's only run against him. His game score was 66, and the win moved him to 15–9 with a 4.06 ERA.

Herz matched him through five scoreless innings despite early traffic. We left three runners aboard in the second and failed to turn several baserunners into runs. Herz then allowed three consecutive singles to open the sixth, and Washington went to Jarlin Susana with the bases loaded and nobody out.

That pitching change did not stop the inning; it opened the floodgates.


Game Day Log — Royals vs. Nationals (Game 1)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Lane Thomas struck out to begin the night, but Mark Payton and Michael Massey followed with singles. Payton was caught trying to steal second during Massey's at-bat, taking one runner off the board before Salvy struck out. Two hits produced no runs.

Turnbull immediately established his fastball and breaking-ball combination. He struck out CJ Abrams and Dylan Crews before Luis García lined out to left. Three up, three down, with two strikeouts.

2nd Inning
Arroyo flew out, but Mann and Garcia drew back-to-back walks. Isbel laid down the sacrifice bunt and moved both runners into scoring position. Schneider was hit by a pitch, loading the bases with two outs, but Thomas grounded out to first. Three runners left. Another early opportunity gone.

Turnbull allowed a single to Brady House but struck out Yohandy Morales and retired James Wood and Daylen Lile. The game remained scoreless.

3rd Inning
Herz struck out Payton, Massey, and Perez in succession. Turnbull answered with his own clean frame, retiring Jhostynxon García, Silas Ardoin, and Abrams. After three, neither side had scored.

4th Inning
Mann was hit by a pitch with one out, but Garcia and Isbel both flew out. Kansas City continued to put runners on base without advancing the game.

Turnbull walked Crews to open Washington's half but retired the next three, ending the inning by striking out House. Four shutout innings from both starters.

5th Inning
Thomas walked with one out and advanced on Payton's groundout, but Massey flew out to center.

Washington then landed the first punch. Lile turned on a Turnbull pitch and drove it 390 feet for a solo homer. Jhostynxon García followed with a single, but Turnbull struck out Ardoin and got Abrams to fly out. Nationals led 1–0. After the month we had just lived through, one run felt heavier than it should have.

6th Inning
Then the entire night changed.

Perez opened with a single. Arroyo followed with another, and Mann ripped a third consecutive hit to load the bases with nobody out. Washington went to the bullpen, replacing Herz with Susana. Garcia greeted him with a two-run double, scoring Perez and Arroyo and moving Mann to third. Kansas City led 2–1. Isbel followed with a three-run homer to right-center, his tenth of the year. Five runs had scored before Washington recorded an out.

Schneider struck out, but Thomas singled. Payton flew out, Massey walked, and Salvy drew another walk to load the bases. Arroyo came up for the second time in the inning and drove a 390-foot grand slam to right.

Nine runs. Nine hits.



One inning that felt like a month's worth of offensive frustration released at once.

Mann and Garcia added infield singles after the slam before Isbel grounded out to end it. We had sent 14 hitters to the plate and transformed a 1–0 deficit into a 9–1 lead.

Turnbull returned for the bottom half and did not let the long layoff disrupt him. Crews struck out, García popped out, and although Wood walked, House singled, and Morales was hit to load the bases, Turnbull struck out Lile to finish six innings with only one run allowed.

7th Inning
Kansas City went in order against Austin Voth. Noah Cameron replaced Turnbull and worked a quiet seventh. Abrams singled with two outs, but Crews forced him at second. The eight-run margin stayed intact.

8th Inning
Arroyo added one more exclamation point. With two outs, he drove Voth's pitch 414 feet for his second home run of the game. Mann followed with his third hit before Garcia grounded out. Royals led 10–1.

Washington's best eighth-inning contact came from James Wood, who doubled and tried to stretch the hit into a triple. Lane Thomas threw him out at third, cutting down his former teammate and erasing the inning's only threat.

9th Inning
Thomas worked another walk in the top half, but Kansas City did not add on. Cameron finished the night cleanly. He struck out Morales, retired Lile on a long plate appearance, and struck out Joey Meneses to close the game.

After five straight losses, the final out came without drama.
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Final

Royals 10, Nationals 1
Royals (13 H, 0 E) | Nationals (6 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Christian Arroyo

Notable Royals: Arroyo finished 3-for-5 with two home runs, three runs scored, and five RBIs. His sixth-inning grand slam broke the game open, and his eighth-inning solo shot completed the biggest night of his Kansas City season. Mann went 3-for-3 with a walk and three runs involved in the sixth-inning machinery. Garcia collected two hits and drove in the first two runs with his 30th double. Isbel hit the three-run homer that created the initial separation, while Thomas reached three times and added the eighth-inning outfield assist.



Winning Pitcher: Spencer Turnbull, 15–9
Losing Pitcher: DJ Herz, 6–9
Save: Noah Cameron, 2

Turnbull and Cameron combined for nine innings of six-hit, one-run baseball with ten strikeouts and only two walks.

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec          IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
S. Turnbull       W (15-9)      6.0    4    1    1    2    8    1    87   4.06
N. Cameron        SV (2)        3.0    2    0    0    0    2    0    40   3.38

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

One blowout does not repair September, but the five-game losing streak is over. We are still 22nd in the power rankings, still chasing Detroit and Cleveland, and still dependent on standings help. But for one night, we played like the club we expected to be when the month began. The standings reality remains difficult, but stopping the slide matters. We needed one night where the game did not become another bullpen crisis or missed-opportunity ledger.

• Turnbull strengthened his extension case. Six innings, one run, eight strikeouts, and enough composure to return after the long nine-run sixth and finish his outing. He has now won 15 games and continues to show value as both a starter and a flexible staff piece.

• Arroyo has forced himself into the 2026 conversation. Two home runs, including a grand slam, and five RBIs. What began as September depth has become sustained production. He keeps taking the at-bats the lineup offers and turning them into something useful.

• The sixth inning was the full offensive avalanche. Three straight singles, Garcia's double, Isbel's homer, two walks, Arroyo's slam, and two more singles. Fourteen batters went to the plate, and nine scored.

• Isbel reached double figures in home runs. His three-run shot was the inning's first knockout swing and gave him ten for the season. His defense and late-season power continue to add value beyond the bottom of the lineup.

• Mann handled the first-base assignment. Three hits, one walk, and no hesitation in the middle of the sixth-inning traffic. He is not Pasquantino, but he gave us exactly what depth is supposed to provide.

• Cameron saved the bullpen. Three scoreless innings and only 40 pitches gave us the cleanest possible finish. With the bullpen worn down and the schedule nearly over, those innings mattered beyond tonight.

• The defense stayed clean. No errors, and Thomas erased Wood at third. After September games repeatedly turned on defensive leakage, a clean night was welcome.

• The baserunning still left one warning sign. Payton was caught stealing in the first, continuing a problem that has followed us through the month. Tonight's offense overwhelmed the mistake, but it remains part of the postseason evaluation file.


Around the League

We slipped to 22nd in the latest major-league power rankings, continuing a downward trend. Atlanta remained in first place, followed by St. Louis, San Diego, Tampa Bay, and San Francisco. Detroit ranked eighth and Cleveland ninth, reflecting the gap that opened during our late-season collapse.

Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Atlanta Braves (116.1, ++)
2) St. Louis Cardinals (112.6, +)
3) San Diego Padres (110.3, ++)
4) Tampa Bay Rays (109.5, --)
5) San Francisco Giants (106.1, ++)
6) Texas Rangers (98.8, o)
7) Arizona Diamondbacks (98.2, --)
8) Detroit Tigers (97.2, --)
9) Cleveland Guardians (96.7, -)
10) Boston Red Sox (96.4, ++)
11) Baltimore Orioles (94.3, ++)
12) Milwaukee Brewers (93.1, --)
13) Chicago Cubs (93.0, ++)
14) Pittsburgh Pirates (90.6, --)
15) Philadelphia Phillies (89.6, ++)
16) New York Mets (88.7, --)
17) Oakland Athletics (88.3, ++)
18) Houston Astros (87.9, ++)
19) Minnesota Twins (86.1, --)
20) Cincinnati Reds (86.0, --)
21) Colorado Rockies (84.0, ++)
22) Kansas City Royals (81.7, --)
23) Los Angeles Dodgers (79.4, --)
24) Seattle Mariners (79.2, +)
25) New York Yankees (76.8, --)
26) Los Angeles Angels (76.2, --)
27) Chicago White Sox (72.5, --)
28) Miami Marlins (72.5, -)
29) Toronto Blue Jays (71.4, +)
30) Washington Nationals (67.4, -)

Houston's Kyle Tucker earned American League Player of the Week after batting .464 with 13 hits, two home runs, eight runs, and a .531 on-base percentage. Cincinnati's Matt McLain received the National League honor after hitting .500 with two homers, seven RBIs, and eight runs.

The Mets were officially eliminated from postseason contention, marking their third consecutive year outside the playoffs. Their elimination is the same notice several clubs around us have already received—and the one we are still trying to delay.

Jackson Merrill produced a five-hit game as San Diego defeated the Dodgers 14–4. Merrill went 5-for-5 with a double and three RBIs, raising his season average to .299 with 25 home runs and 90 RBIs.

San Francisco officially secured a Wild Card berth after sweeping us at Kauffman. The Giants did not win the NL West, but at 86–71, they will play in October and believe they are capable of a deeper run.

That contrast is difficult to ignore! They used our final homestand to secure their place. We came to Washington still trying to prove ours had not already disappeared.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 157



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

[Biggp07]

👑 Wednesday, October 01 • Game 2👑

Another night of stranded opportunities sends the Royals to a loss in Washington.

Kansas City Royals at Washington Nationals | Nationals Park
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 65 degrees | Wind: In from center at 10 mph | Attendance: 12,864 | First pitch: 6:45 PM ET
________________________________________

Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

We turned the calendar into October with a win, and not a quiet one. The 10–1 opener felt almost foreign after the baseball we played through most of September. Christian Arroyo hit two home runs, Spencer Turnbull strengthened his extension case, and the lineup produced a nine-run inning that briefly made the season feel lighter. For a club that had spent weeks walking through smoke, it was the first night in a long time when everything looked clear.

The standings still leave us hanging by a baseball thread. Detroit clinched a postseason berth with a 3–0 win over Tampa Bay, and our likely path—if the final games break properly—remains the Wild Card lane ahead of Boston. "Likely," though, has become a dangerous word around this club. We have spent September watching likely wins disappear, likely bullpen bridges collapse, and likely playoff security shrink to almost nothing.

But the largest decision today involved Bobby Witt Jr.

My instinct as the manager was to get his bat back immediately. My responsibility as the general manager argued for restraint. Five games remained, and bringing him back from the groin injury for a desperate final push carried an obvious risk. Bobby is not simply another player trying to help us reach October. He is the center of the franchise we expect to build around in 2026 and beyond.

The compromise was controlled exposure. Sam Haggerty was designated to make room on the active roster. Bobby would be available as a pinch hitter against left-handed pitching, could serve as the designated hitter against right-handers, and might receive a few defensive innings when the situation allowed. The objective was to return him to game action without treating his body like a final-week lottery ticket.

Salvador Perez received the night off, at least from the starting lineup, giving Devin Mann another opportunity at first base. Mann's own future is approaching a decision point. He has supplied depth since arriving in May, but the 2026 roster cannot carry players simply because they were available during an injury crisis. These final at-bats are part of his evaluation.

Jason McLeod's latest development report added more offseason material to the desk. Singer's movement and control grades slipped. Jacob Lopez's stuff and overall relief projection declined. Arroyo, however, improved both his overall grade and his future outlook at second base—another data point supporting what his September performance has already shown.

SP Brady Singer, Age 29, Kansas City Royals:
- Current movement rating drops from 55 to 50.
- Current and potential control ratings drop from 60 to 55.

SP Jacob Lopez, Age 27, Kansas City Royals:
- Current and potential stuff ratings drop from 60 to 55.
- Overall rating drops from 50 to 45 / 80. (As RP)

SS Christian Arroyo, Age 30, Kansas City Royals:
+ Overall rating improves from 40 to 45 / 80. (As 2B)
+ Potential rating improves from 2.0 to 2.5 stars. (As 2B)

RF Lane Thomas, Age 30, Kansas City Royals:
- Current and potential power ratings drop from 55 to 50.
- Potential eye rating drops from 50 to 45.

Further down the system, Angel Zerpa's control and relief projection improved, Henry Williams added potential stuff, and several younger position players made incremental gains. The negative reports on John McMillon and Will Klein were harder to ignore, with reduced velocity, stamina, and projected value thinning two bullpen options we once expected to press upward.

SP Angel Zerpa, Age 26, Omaha Storm Chasers (Triple A):
+ Current control rating improves from 55 to 60.
+ Overall rating improves from 45 to 50 / 80. (As RP)

SP Henry Williams, Age 24, Omaha Storm Chasers (Triple A):
+ Potential stuff rating improves from 45 to 50.
+ Overall rating improves from 40 to 45 / 80. (As SP)

RP John McMillon, Age 27, Omaha Storm Chasers (Triple A):
- Potential stuff rating drops from 65 to 60.
- Current velocity drops from 98-100 Mph to 97-99 Mph.
- Overall rating drops from 45 to 40 / 80. (As RP)
- Potential rating drops from 2.5 to 2.0 stars. (As RP)

RP Will Klein, Age 25, Omaha Storm Chasers (Triple A):
- Current stamina rating drops from 40 to 35.
- Overall rating drops from 45 to 40 / 80. (As RP)
- Potential rating drops from 2.5 to 2.0 stars. (As RP)

C Carter Jensen, Age 22, Omaha Storm Chasers (Triple A):
- Potential power rating drops from 50 to 45.
+ Current gap rating improves from 55 to 60.

The 2025 season was still technically alive tonight. But every decision had already begun carrying a 2026 shadow.

Washington Nationals Series Snapshot

We entered Game 2 with a chance to secure the series after winning the opener 10–1. Washington remained at the bottom of the National League East with one of the league's weakest run-prevention profiles, but the Nationals had enough young impact talent to punish any club treating the series as a formality.

CJ Abrams, Luis García Jr., James Wood, Brady House, and Daylen Lile gave Washington a young lineup capable of changing a game quickly.
________________________________________


Series Matchup Board — Game 2

• RHP Brady Singer vs. LHP Cristopher Sánchez

The projected matchup placed Singer against left-hander Cristopher Sánchez. Singer entered needing a stabilizing performance after McLeod's report showed recent erosion in both movement and control. Sánchez, meanwhile, represented the type of left-handed starter we had handled well for much of the season.

Singer worked four innings, allowing four hits, three earned runs, two walks, and two home runs while striking out three on 68 pitches. His first three innings were scoreless, but the fourth unraveled quickly after a leadoff walk. Luis García hit a two-run homer, and James Wood followed immediately with a solo shot. Singer escaped further damage but did not return for the fifth. The loss dropped him to 8–10 and raised his ERA to 4.56. The outing did not erase his value, but it reinforced the development report's concern: when the movement and control flatten together, the margin against major-league power disappears fast.

Sánchez changed speeds, stayed out of the center of the zone, allowed two runs on five hits across 7.1 innings, walking two and striking out six. Both Kansas City runs against him came on solo home runs—Mark Payton in the fourth and Drew Waters in the seventh. He kept the rest of the lineup from building sustained traffic and earned Player of the Game honors.

Game Day Log — Royals vs. Nationals (Game 2)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Sánchez retired Lane Thomas, Mark Payton, and Davis Schneider in order. The lineup change did not produce the immediate pressure we found in Tuesday's sixth inning.
Singer allowed a leadoff single to Abrams but forced Yohandy Morales at second. Luis García moved Morales over with a groundout, and James Wood flew out to right. Scoreless after one.

2nd Inning
Massey popped out, Arroyo flew to center, and Maikel Garcia grounded out. Six straight Royals retired.
Singer found a cleaner rhythm. He struck out House, retired Lile on a grounder, and got Dylan Crews to fly out. Washington had one hit through two.

3rd Inning
Drew Waters struck out to begin the inning, and Mann followed with Kansas City’s first hit—a line-drive single to left. Dingler popped out, and Thomas flew out to short.
Singer answered with a perfect frame, striking out Jhostynxon García and retiring Silas Ardoin and Abrams. Through three innings, he had allowed one hit and no runs.

4th Inning
Payton broke the scoreless game by jumping on the first pitch he saw and driving it 366 feet to left for his 18th home run. Schneider followed with a walk, but Massey's groundout, Arroyo's strikeout, and Garcia's strikeout prevented the inning from growing. B]Royals led 1–0.[/B]

The advantage lasted only a few batters. Singer walked Morales to start the bottom half. Luis García then drove a two-run homer to right, flipping the score. James Wood followed with another home run, giving Washington back-to-back blasts and a 3–1 lead.
Singer struck out House and retired Lile, but Crews singled and Jhostynxon García walked before Ardoin flew out. Three runs on three hits, all arriving in the middle of the inning where Singer lost his edge.

5th Inning
Waters doubled to open the fifth. Mann grounded out and moved him to third. Dingler struck out, but Thomas reached on a bunt single, placing runners at the corners. Payton then struck out swinging. It was the kind of missed opportunity that has defined too many games. A leadoff double and a runner at third produced nothing.

Brennan Bernardino replaced Singer. Abrams greeted him with a triple and scored on Morales' sacrifice fly, widening Washington's lead to 4–1. Bernardino then retired García and Wood. The Nationals had taken one isolated extra-base hit and converted it. We had not.

6th Inning
Schneider walked to open the inning, but Massey grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Arroyo grounded out, and Sánchez finished another quiet frame.
Bernardino worked around a hit batter in the bottom half. House struck out, Crews popped out, and Jhostynxon García grounded out. The deficit remained three.

7th Inning
Garcia struck out, but Waters gave us another pulse with a 400-foot solo home run to left. The swing cut the deficit to 4–2 and gave Waters his 12th homer of the year.
I then began the planned transition. Salvy pinch-hit for Mann and flew out. Bobby Witt Jr. entered as the new shortstop after pinch-hitting for Garcia, and Perez remained at first base. The move gave Bobby his first defensive work since the injury without asking him to carry a full game.
Jacob Lopez took the mound and struck out Ardoin. Abrams grounded out, and Morales reached when Perez committed an error at first. Lopez struck out Luis García to strand him.

8th Inning
Thomas grounded out, and Washington replaced Sánchez with Blade Tidwell. Payton singled, Schneider flew out, and Massey beat out an infield single. Arroyo then lined a ball at 110 mph—but directly to center. Two aboard, no runs. Another hard-hit baseball without the result we needed.

Lopez struck out Wood and retired House before Lile singled. Lile stole second, and Crews singled him home, extending the Washington lead to 5–2. John Schreiber entered and struck out Jhostynxon García on two pitches, but the insurance run had already reached the board.

9th Inning
Michael McGreevy came in to close the game. Bobby led off. He fell behind 0–2, then turned on a pitch and drove it 357 feet to right field for a solo home run. The return could not have been scripted much better. His first meaningful offensive contribution after the injury was his 13th homer of the season, and for a moment, the dugout felt the possibility of something larger.

Waters flew out. Perez followed with a hard fly to center. Dingler singled to left and kept the inning alive, bringing Austin Meadows to the plate as a pinch hitter for Thomas. Meadows popped out to first.

Washington 5, Kansas City 3. Bobby's return gave us a moment, but it could not give us the game.
________________________________________

Final

Royals 3, Nationals 5
Royals (9 H, 1 E) | Nationals (7 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Cristopher Sánchez

Notable Royals: Payton went 2-for-4 with his 18th home run. Waters finished 2-for-4 with a double and his 12th homer. Bobby homered in his first plate appearance back from the injured list, while Mann and Dingler each added a hit.

Notable Nationals: Washington received consecutive fourth-inning home runs from Luis García and James Wood. Abrams tripled and scored in the fifth, and Crews drove in the eighth-inning insurance run.



Kansas City left seven runners aboard and went without a hit with runners in scoring position.

Winning Pitcher: Cristopher Sánchez, 8–12
Losing Pitcher: Brady Singer, 8–10
Save: Michael McGreevy, 28

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec           IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
B. Singer         L (8-10)       4.0    4    3    3    2    3    2    68   4.56
B. Bernardino                    2.0    1    1    1    0    1    0    24   3.89
J. Lopez                         1.2    2    1    1    0    3    0    25   2.65
J. Schreiber                     0.1    0    0    0    0    0    0     2   3.14

________________________________________

Front Office Note / Takeaways

The season keeps offering symbols instead of certainty, and the Wild Card margin is now thinner. Detroit has secured its berth. We remain ahead of Boston in the chase, but every loss reduces the amount of help and mathematics available. Bobby returned and homered. That should have felt like a turning point. Instead, it became the final run of another loss.

• Bobby's return was the night's clearest positive. He entered carefully, handled shortstop without an apparent problem, and homered in the ninth. However, one home run does not mean the groin is ready for maximum workload. The plan remains controlled usage rather than forcing him into every inning of the final week. He can help us, but protecting 2026 remains part of every lineup. The long-term decision still outweighs the short-term desperation.

• Singer's fourth inning decided the game. Three scoreless innings disappeared after a walk and consecutive home runs. The recent movement and control downgrades in the development report were evident in how Washington punished the mistakes.

• The fifth inning was our best missed opportunity. Waters doubled, reached third with one out, and continued to strengthen his case for the roster. His season has been uneven, but his late power and defensive versatility remain valuable. Thomas later put runners on the corners. Dingler and Payton could not bring the run home.

• Solo power was not enough. Payton, Waters, and Bobby each homered, but all three came with the bases empty. Washington clustered its offense more effectively.

• Mann's evaluation remains unresolved. He singled in his first at-bat and helped create the fifth inning opportunity, but did not produce a run. Salvy replaced him in the seventh when the game moved into comeback mode.

• Arroyo's 0-for-4 does not erase September. His final eighth-inning line drive was hit at 110 mph and found a glove. The overall development report and recent production still place him firmly in the 2026 infield conversation.

• Perez's error did not score, but the defense again introduced risk. Lopez pitched around it in the seventh. In tighter-leverage situations, that same extra out may not remain harmless.


Around the League

Detroit officially secured a postseason berth with an 87–70 record. The Tigers have not yet clinched the American League Central, but their October place is guaranteed. Tarik Skubal summarized the practical truth of the moment: division winner or Wild Card, the first requirement is simply getting there.

Baltimore's Jackson Holliday earned American League Batter of the Month after hitting .337 with seven home runs, 19 RBIs, and 17 runs in September. His full-season line now includes a .321 average, 40 homers, 93 RBIs, and 118 runs at only 21 years old.
Arizona's Corbin Carroll won the National League award after batting .356 with eight home runs, 26 RBIs, and 26 runs. His season has grown into an MVP-level profile: a .322 average, 32 home runs, 134 RBIs, and 128 runs scored.

Cleveland closer Cade Smith was named American League Pitcher of the Month after producing a 1.37 ERA, 32 strikeouts, and three saves across 19.2 September innings. Smith now has 41 saves and 101 strikeouts, making him one of the largest late-inning obstacles standing between any Wild Card opponent and the Division Series.
St. Louis closer Ryan Helsley earned the National League honor after recording 11 saves with a 0.63 ERA in September. He enters October with 48 saves and a 2.43 season ERA.

Boston's Max Carlson received American League Rookie of the Month after posting a 0.00 ERA across 14.2 September innings.
Pittsburgh infielder Termarr Johnson took the National League award after hitting .354 with five home runs and 15 RBIs.

These are the players entering October with momentum. We are still trying to determine whether we will enter it with a place.
________________________________________
👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 158



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