The Hunt For Blue October: Kansas City Royals (OOTP 25)

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What's next for the stadium?
Move outside of the metro still highly unlikely; next steps to be determined in coming months

By artoodeetoo
04/04/2024

Voters defeat Question 1
If you haven't heard by now, the voters in Jackson County, Mo., have soundly defeated Question 1, which is the extension of the 3/8 cent sales tax that would help fund the Royals' new downtown stadium, as well as partially funding the Kansas City Chiefs' $800 million reno of Arrowhead Stadium.

The team's lease with the current stadium, Kauffman Stadium, runs out after the 2030 season, and the team has stated repeatedly that there are no further plans to renovate or stay in the current stadium past that date. Some of the 'No' votes thought that the defeat meant that the stadium was safe for decades to come, but that's not the case.

Royals owner John Sherman and the rest of the ownership group, which includes Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, have promised $1B plus any cost overruns on the stadium, while the county and state would pitch in the other $500 million, which is one of the more generous proposals for a new sports stadium in recent memory by private entities.

Kauffman Stadium, on one hand, has always been highly rated for originality and ease of parking. That said, there's very little to do in the immediate vicinity, hamstringing the team's ability to draw fans that otherwise would not attend games, as it's currently in a suburban area that is mainly residential with few attractions in the area.

Other recent baseball stadiums that have been built within the last 10-15 years, such as Globe Life Field (Rangers), Truist Park (Braves), and Target Field (Twins) have had more public financing than private; and all were eventually built after public hand-wringing over the cost initially.

What does this mean?
Very little has changed in regards to the situation, other than that it's very unlikely that the stadium gets built in 1) the Crossroads District, where the site was moved to within the last few weeks in the run-up to the vote, and 2) that the team is moved to a different city.

Folks, Nashville, Salt Lake City, and Charlotte are likely destinations for teams in the near future, but it's near-zero that the Royals end up anywhere other than in the Kansas City metro. That talk needs to end. In fact, there are multiple locales downtown where the facility could and will likely end up (East Village, West Bottoms), and then on the Kansas side (more on that soon) before it's even considered that the team goes elsewhere.

The other scenario that could gain steam is a move to Kansas City, Kansas -- not farfetched like relocating to a different city, but plausible, nonetheless. There are also non-Jackson County locations that could be possible, such as North Kansas City across the Missouri River in neighboring Clay County, Mo.

The fact that the measure was so soundly defeated might be a blessing in disguise, as it will force the Royals to really overhaul their plans, and present something that's thorough and explains their positions as to the benefits more clearly instead of something that's slapped together in a few months with the Chiefs as a rider to try and get people on board.

Lastly, I'm not a huge fan of public subsidization of stadiums, but again this is one of the most generous stadium plans in terms of non-public funding I've seen recently; and the Chiefs' renovation plans look surprisingly ordinary for the amount they're requesting.

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Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Chicago White Sox

By Conner Smith | Kansas City Star | April 8th, 2024

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals
Apr 4, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago White Sox (3-4)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	1
Kansas City Royals (4-3)	1	0	0	1	2	0	1	1	X	6	12	0
W: Jordan Lyles (1-0) L: Michael Soroka (0-1) S: Chris Stratton (2)

Thursday, April 4th, 2024
Bobby Witt Jr doubled and homered, and Brady Singer allowed one run over 4 2/3 innings as the Royals opened their four-game series with the White Sox with a 6-1 triumph.

Despite the one run allowed, Singer struggled with his command throughout, throwing just thirty-five strikes over sixty-five pitches, prompting manager Matt Quatraro to take him out with two outs in the fifth.

"It was a battle for him, and from what we could tell and what he was telling us, the slider was the only pitch he was landing early on," Quatraro mused in the post-game interview. "Later on, Chicago was catching on to that and laying off those pitches outside the zone. Luckily, our bullpen came in and kept them off the board the rest of the game and our offense did enough to win."

Vinnie Pasquantino, Hunter Renfroe, Kyle Isbel, and Nelson Velazquez also collected two hits each, with Renfroe also going deep for the second time this season.

"We all had some pretty good swings out there," Witt said, "And we took advantage of the opportunities we had."

The victory stopped a brief two-game skid from their road series with the Orioles, and put the Royals back over .500 for already the second time this season.

"I think the key for us is avoiding the real long losing skids that we had last year," said Quatraro when asked about the significance of the win. "You don't want those two, three game streaks to turn into five, six, seven games. Understandably, those happen occasionally, but you can't go into those kinds of droughts and expect to compete."

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals
Apr 5, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago White Sox (4-4)	3	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	6	9	0
Kansas City Royals (4-4)	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	7	0
W: Erick Fedde (1-1) L: Michael Wacha (0-1) S: John Brebbia (2)

Friday, April 5th, 2024
Runners in scoring position were again a problem for the lineup, as the Royals squandered opportunities in the fourth and sixth innings in which they had the first two men in each of those innings reach base safely, only to see a combination of strikeouts and double plays render them punchless with no runs to speak of. They left nine men on base in all, including five in scoring position.

They did eventually take advantage in the seventh, scoring both of their runs in the game thanks to a Kyle Isbel double and single by Maikel Garcia. However, the White Sox had already tripled their output by that point, having shot out to a 6-0 lead after five innings as the Royals fell 6-2 to even the series at one win each.

Michael Wacha, pitching on four days' rest, went 3 1/3 innings, allowing four earned runs with five strikeouts. Luis Robert's homerun in the first was the big blow, but it would be all that the White Sox needed. Nick Anderson, Angel Zerpa, Will Smith, James McArthur, and John Schreiber all combined in relief of Wacha, with the latter three all tossing scoreless outings.

McArthur in particular was dominant, retiring all eight hitters he faced with five strikeouts. Schreiber pitched the final out of the ninth, striking Eloy Jimenez out with a nasty sinker. Smith worked around a couple of hits, but didn't walk anyone and picked up a punchout along the way.

"We dug ourselves too big of a hole and couldn't come up with the timely hits when we needed them," shortstop Bobby Witt Jr said in the locker room after the game, going 2-for-4 with a couple of stolen bases in the game.

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals
Apr 6, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago White Sox (4-5)	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
Kansas City Royals (5-4)	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	X	3	10	0
W: Alec Marsh (1-0) L: Chris Flexen (0-1) S: Will Smith (2)

Saturday, April 6th, 2024
Homeruns from MJ Melendez and Salvador Perez, coupled with a strong initial start for Alec Marsh led to a Royals victory on Saturday afternoon as the pitching staff held Chicago to just one run in a 3-1 win. Marsh went 5 1/3 innings, scattering five hits and a pair of walks with three strikeouts.

His only run allowed came on an RBI hit by catcher Korey Lee out of the nine-hole. Lee collected two of the White Sox's seven hits, no one else had more than one.

Meanwhile, the top-half of the Royals' batting order went 8-for-18 (.444), with a couple of homeruns, two walks, and all three runs scored by the team in the win. They did have a couple of rallies snuffed out by double plays off the bat of Vinnie Pasquantino, but otherwise did pretty well with the opportunities they had.

"The bullpen was outstanding," said manager Matt Quatraro. "Alec (Marsh) gave us some really quality innings, and normally in a game that was progressing as it was he'd have gone a little farther, but his pitch count was already in the mid 70's, and he said he was starting to lose a little steam after the fifth, so we had Angel (Zerpa) get ready."

In 3 2/3 innings from four different relievers, they allowed just two hits, a hit batsman, and a walk while striking out four. Will Smith earned his second save of the season, working around a couple of hits yet again like on Thursday night, but getting key outs when he had to.

Chicago White Sox at Kansas City Royals
Apr 7, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Chicago White Sox (4-6)	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	3	7	2
Kansas City Royals (6-4)	2	0	3	1	4	1	3	0	X	14	16	0
W: Cole Ragans (2-1) L: Garrett Crochet (1-1) S: None

Sunday, April 7th, 2024
No White Sox pitcher was safe from the wrath of the Royals' offense; as the good guys put up a couple of touchdowns in a 14-3 shellacking of Chicago to secure the series victory, three games to one.

Eight of nine Royals hitters collected at least one hit, while eight of nine also scored at least once. The only starter not to get in the hit or run scored column was second baseman Garrett Hampson, who was 0-for-5.

Both Salvador Perez and Hunter Renfroe hit their third homeruns of the season. Outfielder Dairon Blanco, making his second start of the season, was 3-for-4 with two triples, a double, and three runs scored. He also drove in two runs with his fifth-inning triple against Deivi Garcia. Bobby Witt Jr doubled twice and scored twice. I could go on and on, but the offense was much more than sufficient in the eleven-run victory.

On the other side, Cole Ragans was brilliant once again. He issued his first two walks of the season, but fanned six over 6 2/3 innings while scattering three hits and one run to pick up his second win of the season. Matt Sauer and Jordan Lyles worked in mop-up duty, combining for the final 2 1/3 innings of work.

"Kinda running out of superlatives to say about the guy," said manager Matt Quatraro. "Comes to the ballpark ready to get down to it, and it's reflected in how he pitches, a business-like approach. He still manages to have fun with it, don't get me wrong, but he's a bulldog on the hill when he's out there."

UP NEXT: vs Houston (04/09 -- 04/11)

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MLB NEWS AND NOTES
First batch of power rankings out; Story to miss significant time after shoulder injury

By MLB.com staff
04/08/2024

TOP STORIES
First Power Rankings Revealed: The first MLB.com Power Rankings for the 2024 season have been released, and to no one's surprise, the Dodgers open the season in the top spot with a sparkling 10-2 mark. The rest of the top five comprise of the Blue Jays, Guardians, Reds, and Mets.

Kansas City, off to a 6-4 start, which is their best start since 2021, ranked sixth. Miami was another surprise entrant, coming in eighth. The top ten in full is below:

1. Los Angeles Dodgers (10-2)
2. Toronto Blue Jays (7-3)
3. Cleveland Guardians (7-3)
4. Cincinnati Reds (6-3)
5. New York Mets (6-3)
6. Kansas City Royals (6-4)
7. San Diego Padres (7-5)
8. Miami Marlins (6-4)
9. Arizona Diamondbacks (6-4)
10. Atlanta Braves (5-4)

Just missed: Detroit (5-4), Baltimore (5-4), Los Angeles Angels (5-4), Texas Rangers (5-4)

Guardians, Mariners suspensions reduced: Seattle infielder Ty France and Guardians pitcher Jaime Barria saw their suspensions reduced from five to two games each stemming from a bench-clearing fight that happened on Wednesday night by the league office late last night. Both have been able to play pending the appeal process with France playing in five games total this season to date, and Barria pitching on Friday in his second appearance of the season.

The incident that happened in the fifth inning Wednesday night appeared to originate from an issue in the previous game, as Mariners leadoff hitter Logan Allen hit Seattle leadoff hitter Dylan Moore with the first pitch of the inning. France, who was the Mariners player ejected in the fifth, said something at Allen as he walked to the plate, prompting a pre-emptive warning from the home plate umpire.

When France was hit by Barria in the fifth inning after a pair of brushback pitches to begin the at-bat, France began to walk towards the mound, which caused both benches to clear. After more words were exchanged, and the two engaged in some shoving, Barria went to throw a punch but was immediately stopped by teammate Jose Ramirez, who was in the middle trying to keep both players separate.

France then attempted to throw a punch, but by this time, other Mariners teammates had intervened and the fracas eventually stopped and play resumed, in which the Mariners went on to win 6-5.

"Hopefully this is all behind us and we can move on and play ball," said first-year Guardians manager Stephen Vogt. "No one wants to see what happened that night, but I think the reduction in suspension is fair for both players. It was about five or six minutes long, and really didn't escalate too much further. Mostly, it was just players shouting at each other."

OTHER HEADLINES
Royals acquire RHP Selby from Pittsburgh for minor league pitcher
Red Sox shortstop situation looking grim; Story out for 'potentially months'
Giants lose fifth straight as team stumbles in face of early high hopes

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ROYALS NEWS AND NOTES
Royals acquire Selby from Pittsburgh; Massey, Brentz begin rehab stints

By artoodeetoo
04/08/2024

TOP STORIES
Royals deal Oliver for Selby: Selected in the 17th round by the Royals less than a year ago, Connor Oliver is now in the Pittsburgh organization, having been traded there for righty reliever Colin Selby. Selby was optioned to Triple-A Omaha despite having been with the Pirates for the short duration of the season to date, pitching to a 3.68 ERA in four appearances, so the Royals likely feel pretty good about their bullpen options to this point.

Oliver made just one appearance for the Arizona rookie league squad a year ago, and put up one of the most bizarre stat lines you'll see in a box score -- two hits allowed in one inning, throwing just five pitches, no walks or strikeouts. Four of the five hitters he faced put the ball in play on the first pitch, including a double play.

Two to begin rehab assignments on Monday: Infielder Michael Massey and lefty pitcher Jake Brentz reported to Double-A Northwest Arkansas to begin their rehab assignments, starting with tonight's game at San Antonio.

However, both find themselves in starkly different situations. While Massey is largely just getting a few games under his belt to get some rhythm back before heading to Kansas City, Brentz could be fighting for a roster spot.

With Will Smith and Angel Zerpa already on the big league roster, and others such as Josh Taylor, Walter Pennington, and perhaps Evan Sisk in front of him in the pecking order, this is a big next handful of weeks for Brentz, who signed a $2 million, two-year contract extension after the 2022 season.

OTHER ROYALS HEADLINES
Mozzicato, Kudrna impress in 2024 debuts with Quad Cities
Top prospect Cross hopes to rebound after tough 2023 season derailed by illness
Royals among early-season MLB surprises -- or are they really a surprise?

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Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: Houston Astros

By Conner Smith | Kansas City Star | April 12th, 2024

Houston Astros at Kansas City Royals
Apr 9, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston Astros (5-7)	0	2	2	0	3	2	2	0	2	13	17	0
Kansas City Royals (6-5)	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	10	0
W: Framber Valdez (1-1) L: Seth Lugo (0-2) S: None

Tuesday, April 9th, 2024
Coming in fresh off winning three of four against the White Sox to go to 6-4 on the season, that momentum was halted with a resounding thud as the struggling Astros got right offensively with a 13-2 pounding of the Royals, thanks to five homeruns from the visitors.

Houston came in struggling with the bats, having scored three or fewer runs in six of their seven losses so far this season, while going 4-1 in games with five or more.

Serving as the Astros' DH, Trey Cabbage knocked a pair of homeruns, with Mauricio Dubon, Victor Caratini, and Alex Bregman also going deep. Royals starter Seth Lugo struck out seven with no walks, but was tagged for nine hits and six earned runs, leaving with just two outs in the fifth inning.

"The conditions were conducive to this kind of game," said manager Matt Quatraro. "They have four or five guys that you just can't make mistakes to, and that's what happened with pretty much every pitcher we put out there."

Kansas City wasn't completely devoid of offense, as they collected ten hits, four of them going for extra bases. Salvador Perez went 2-for-4 with his second triple of the season, the first time he's had multiple triples in a season since all the way back in 2016. Tuesday also marked the fifth straight game for Bobby Witt Jr in which he collected multiple hits, including two more doubles.

Hunter Renfroe and Freddy Fermin also had two hits each. As it has been so far, the main issue was not taking advantage of scoring opportunities early in the game.

"Even in the inning we had our two runs, it took two sacrifice flies to get them in," Quatraro mused. "In the first, Bobby had a double with one out, and didn't even get to third base. In the fourth, our two sac flies. It seems like we're having to scratch things out for offense, but I still feel pretty good we're on the verge of turning it around as we're still barreling the ball up pretty well."

Houston Astros at Kansas City Royals
Apr 10, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston Astros (6-7)	0	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	5	9	0
Kansas City Royals (6-6)	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	11	0
W: Cristian Javier (1-1) L: Brady Singer (0-1) S: Josh Hader (3)

Wednesday, April 10th, 2024
It was another 'get-right' kind of game for the Astros, as this time it was starting pitcher Cristian Javier who put a couple of poor starts behind him, allowing just one run over eight innings in a Royals' 5-1 loss.

However, there were baserunners aplenty for Kansas City, as they were able to touch Javier for ten hits (eleven total), and collected a couple of walks. They left a host of runners on base, including going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.

"You know, it may not have made a difference between a win and a loss, but our conversion rate on these situations just isn't there right now," said manager Matt Quatraro. "Again, as with last night's game, I still think we're pretty close to breaking through and getting some of these to break our way."

In taking the loss, Brady Singer allowed five earned runs in five innings; was knocked around a bit with nine hits and a walk, but struck out seven in a tidy eighty-three pitches. The bullpen was solid, giving them a lift with four scoreless innings between three different pitchers.

Maikel Garcia's RBI single in the fifth, and Bobby Witt Jr's RBI single in the ninth accounted for the only Royals' runs on the day. Both of them collected two hits each, while Salvador Perez, Nelson Velazquez, and Kyle Isbel all reached base safely twice (one hit, one walk each).

Houston Astros at Kansas City Royals
Apr 11, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Houston Astros (6-8)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
Kansas City Royals (7-6)	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	X	2	7	1
W: Michael Wacha (1-0) L: Ronel Blanco (0-1) S: Chris Stratton (3)

Thursday, April 11th, 2024
Kansas City starting pitcher Michael Wacha got off to a rough start, allowing a couple of hits and a walk in the very first frame, but managed to wriggle out of that jam to go on to toss six shutout innings in the Royals' 2-0 win over the Astros, staving off the sweep and putting the Royals back over .500 heading into a road series tonight at Citi Field against the Mets.

He struck out six while scattering four hits and three walks, picking up his first victory in a Royals uniform. A key play that helped him out in the first inning was a Kyle Isbel dart to home plate on Jose Altuve's single, throwing Trey Cabbage out. Cabbage suffered a shoulder injury on the play, and was removed for Kyle Tucker the following inning.

Kansas City didn't get on the board until the sixth when MJ Melendez put a charge into a Ronel Blanco curveball, parking it into the fountains in right-center field to put them up 1-0. They would later add an insurance run with an RBI single from Adam Frazier, all the while helped by a strong bullpen effort that saw Will Smith, James McArthur, and Chris Stratton finish out the game. Stratton pitched around a two-out single from Mauricio Dubon to notch his third save of the season.

"You always want more, because you never know what the other team is going to do," manager Matt Quatraro quipped in the post-game press conference regarding another game where the Royals missed golden scoring opportunities. "We had some timely hitting late that lifted us up, but we had the bases loaded in back-to-back innings early on, and came away with nothing both times without putting the ball in play."

UP NEXT: @ New York Mets (04/12 -- 04/14)

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MLB NEWS AND NOTES
Tatis Jr, Encarnacion-Strand injuries deal a blow

By MLB.com staff
04/12/2024

TOP STORIES
Tatis Jr to miss a month: Padres outfielder Fernando Tatis could miss up to a month of game action with a torn quad that was suffered last Sunday against the Giants. After getting a second opinion, the team decided to put him on the 10-day injured list instead of the 60-day, as the injury was not as severe as originally thought.

He pulled up halfway to second legging out a double in their 8-2 win over San Francisco that night, and was replaced by Jose Azocar.

OTHER HEADLINES
O's Henderson suspended three games for 'ump bump'
Reds IF Encarnacion-Strand to miss rest of season with knee injury

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Team Roster/Records | MLB Standings | Statistics

Series Recap: New York Mets

By Conner Smith | Kansas City Star | April 15th, 2024

Kansas City Royals at New York Mets
Apr 12, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (8-6)	0	1	0	0	2	1	0	3	0	7	7	1
New York Mets (6-8)	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	3	7	1
W: Alec Marsh (2-0) L: Sean Manaea (0-2) S: None

Friday, April 12th, 2024
With a pair of homeruns and an RBI single, Salvador Perez led the charge offensively in the Royals' series-opening win over the Mets by a 7-3 score. Nelson Velazquez also went deep for the first time this season, going 1-for-3 with a walk in addition to his homerun.

Alec Marsh turned in another solid start, going five innings while allowing just one earned run, striking out seven with just three hits and two walks to move to 2-0 on the year. There was a rain delay of a little over thirty minutes in the top of the sixth with Marsh cruising at that point, having retired nine of the last twelve he faced.

However, manager Matt Quatraro still pulled him at the beginning of the bottom of the sixth in favor of Jordan Lyles; who spun 2 2/3 shutout innings in relief, striking out four. The game had been paused with the Mets' Sean Manaea on the mound, having just walked Bobby Witt Jr.

"That was going to be the end of the line for Alec regardless," Quatraro said when asked about removing his young starter early. "I've been real impressed with what I've seen out of him so far, and with it still being early and getting up to speed from working out of the bullpen through the spring and early on, we're not going to push him, especially after a rain delay."

Freddy Fermin also collected a trio of hits for Kansas City; and Bobby Witt Jr scored twice and drew three walks, only the third time in his career he's walked that many times in a game. The three free passes were more than he had to that point all season (2).

Kansas City Royals at New York Mets
Apr 13, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (8-7)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2
New York Mets (7-8)	2	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	X	4	10	0
W: Adrian Houser (2-1) L: Cole Ragans (2-2) S: None

Saturday, April 13th, 2024
Mets starter Adrian Houser was a Nick Loftin single away from the first perfect game since June 28th of last season, holding the Royals to one hit in a tidy eighty-seven pitches as the Mets evened the series by handing the Royals a 4-0 defeat. Kansas City actually had more errors (two) than hits (one).

"He came out on the attack from the first pitch and didn't let up from there," manager Carlos Mendoza said, "He's always been a guy that's worked ahead in the count, and when he does that, he's really hard to get on top of."

Meanwhile, New York nickel and dimed the Kansas City pitching staff by getting tons of baserunners on, but only two of the ten hits were for extra bases, and they drew four walks. Three of them were issued by Cole Ragans, who threw fifty-seven pitches in his first two innings, and could only get through four innings in total.

"He was losing a few ticks off the fastball, which is a pretty good sign that the tank was beginning to empty a bit," said manager Matt Quatraro. "With the lineup turning over after the fourth, we made the decision to turn to the bullpen at that point. I'd say they did a pretty nice job, but (Adrian) Houser was magnificent out there. We had no answer whatsoever."

Kansas City Royals at New York Mets
Apr 14, 2024	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Kansas City Royals (8-8)	1	1	0	0	2	1	0	0	0	5	14	0
New York Mets (8-8)	0	2	1	0	0	4	0	0	X	7	8	0
W: Adam Ottavino (1-0) L: Nick Anderson (1-1) S: Edwin Diaz (4)

Sunday, April 14th, 2024
Brett Baty came into the series with a dismal .181 OPS, but went 3-for-8 against Royals pitching, including a pair of homeruns. His homerun on Sunday keyed a run of back-to-back-to-back dingers, as Baty, D.J. Stewart, and Mark Vientos all homered in the four-run sixth as Kansas City fell 7-5, dropping the rubber match of the series.

Baty's homerun came against Seth Lugo, who was swiftly replaced by Nick Anderson, who surrendered the last two of the three straight homeruns. Anderson shrugged off the two homeruns to retire the next four hitters, but the offense couldn't find an answer in the late innings against the Mets' bullpen.

Kansas City took a 4-3 lead when Nelson Velazquez lined up a fastball from Jose Quintana and parked it well over the center field wall, and then added an insurance tally in the next inning when Bobby Witt Jr drove Garrett Hampson in with a double. That was quickly erased with the three consecutive homeruns in the next half-inning, however.

The Royals' offense knocked Quintana around quite a bit, collecting a dozen hits and a couple of free passes for good measure in 5 2/3 innings of work.

After a 6-4 start, the Royals have now lost four of their last six while being outscored 32-18 in that stretch.

UP NEXT: @ Chi. Sox (04/15 -- 04/17)

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ROYALS NEWS AND NOTES
Massey progressing well in the minors; Royals prospect out 'indefinitely' after being hit in the head with pitch

By artoodeetoo
04/15/2024

TOP STORIES
Massey close to returning: After exiting the spring session on the injured list with back tightness, infielder Michael Massey appears to be on the verge of returning to the Royals roughly two-and-a-half to three weeks into the season.

He's been on a rehab assignment since April 8th with the Double-A Naturals. He was solid for the Naturals, posting a .998 OPS in twenty-two plate appearances. He's expected to begin the next leg of his rehab today with the Triple-A Omaha Storm Chasers.

He's expected to return in time for the Baltimore series that begins on Friday; and it could very well be a welcome addition as incumbent second baseman Adam Frazier is in the midst of a lengthy dry spell.

OTHER ROYALS HEADLINES
Royals' pitching staff earning high marks early on -- Passan, ESPN
Naturals IF Cayden Wallace out indefinitely with concussion after HBP