Overview

The Royals boarded the plane for Seattle this weekend for a 3-game series with the Mariners. The Royals came into the weekend sporting a 5-6 record after a series win against the Twins. Likewise, the Mariners won their last series with the Rangers, improving their record before this weekend to 7-6. 

The Royals were swept in this series 3-0. Any sweep is disheartening for a team, but the series was full of missed opportunities and disappointing losses. The Royals now hold a record of 5-9 on the season, while the Mariners improve to 10-6. 

Game 1 - Royals Drop Game 1 as Mariners’ Flexen Shines

Starters: Brad Keller (KC) vs. Chris Flexen (SEA)

The Royals got their first real chance in the top of the 2nd with a Hunter Dozier double to left, but after advancing to third, the team couldn’t bring him 90 feet further to get on the board. There wasn’t much base traffic for either team until the bottom of the 4th when the Mariners loaded up the bases with one out. A dribbling comebacker ate up Keller and charged him with an error, and Julio Rodriguez took full advantage with a two-run double that broke the 0-0 tie. Jarred Kelenic immediately followed it up with a triple, bringing home two more runs. Salvador Perez finally got the Royals on the board in the 6th inning with a solo homer after 18 consecutive scoreless innings from the team. Neither club generated much after the 6th, helped by three Royals grounding into double plays throughout the game. 

Chris Flexen gave most of his bullpen the night off, throwing 7.0 innings while allowing 6 hits and a run to pick up the win. Brad Keller pitched a better game than the stats might suggest, but he gave up his four runs in an unlucky inning, and allowed 6 hits and 2 walks over 4.2 innings, taking the loss. Andres Munoz struggled somewhat and gave up one hit and one walk while recording a one-inning save, his first of the year. 

Final: Mariners 4-1 Royals

Most Notable Player: Julio Rodriguez (2-4, 2B, 1 R, 2 RBI)

Game 2 - Mariners Pull Away in 8th Inning of Back-and-Forth Contest, Win 13-7

Starters: Kris Bubic (KC) vs. Matt Brash (SEA)

Kansas City drew first blood in the top of the 1st after a Nicky Lopez leadoff walk, a double by Whit Merrifield and an Andrew Benintendi RBI-groundout. The Mariners quickly rebounded with a J.P. Crawford two-run home run. The Mariners extended their lead with a big second inning when Tom Murphy, Jarred Kelenic, and Ty France all singled, eventually tallying two additional runs. They tacked on one more in the 3rd with back-to-back doubles by Eugenio Suarez and Abraham Toro to increase the lead to 5-1. However, the Royals answered in the top of the 5th with a huge inning. Singles from Andrew Benintendi and Salvador Perez preceded a Carlos Santana walk. The Royals brought home two runners on a wild play consisting of two Mariners throwing errors. A Bobby Witt, Jr. single brought home Santana, but the Mariners struck out the side to prevent either of the runners in scoring position to cross home, and they retained the lead 5-4. In the bottom of the 6th, a single, a walk, and a double by Eugenio Suarez yielded a Mariners run. Carlos Santana finally made solid contact this season with a 2-run home run to start the 7th, tying it at 6-6. Hunter Dozier and Edward Olivares both doubled to give the Royals their first lead of the night. It didn’t last long, however, as Josh Staumont came in to pitch and gave up an infield single, walk, and RBI single from Ty France to tie the game. In the bottom of the 8th, the Mariners exploded for six runs via 4 straight walks, then a Jesse Winker double and Ty France 3-run homer. The Mariners would end up winning the contest 13-7.

With Matt Brash only logging 4.1 innings in his start, Diego Castillo wound up with the win after a flawless eighth inning. Jake Brentz took the loss after allowing an embarrassing 5 runs in 4 walks while recording only a single out, and pushed his ERA to 18.69. The run given up by Collin Snider in the 6th also marked the first allowed by the Royals’ bullpen in 27.2 consecutive innings, the third longest in team history. 

Final: Mariners 13-7 Royals

Most Notable Player: Ty France (5-6, HR, 3 R, 5 RBI)

Game 3 - Mariners Complete Sweep in Wild 12th-Inning Walkoff Win

Starters: Carlos Hernandez (KC) vs. Robbie Ray (SEA)

It didn’t take long for the Mariners to pick the scoring up where they left off, as a 373-foot homer by Ty France put two runs on the board in the bottom of the first. In the top of the third, the Royals were able to answer with a Michael A. Taylor walk, a Cam Gallagher RBI double, and a Salvador Perez RBI double. A J.P. Crawford double in the 6th eventually broke the tie, and it looked like the one-run lead the Mariners had would hold up to end the game, but a clutch Hunter Dozier solo shot in the 9th said otherwise. The 3-3 tie sent the game into the 10th inning, where each team put up a run due to an Andrew Benintendi single and Jesse Winker sacrifice fly, respectively. Neither team scored in the 11th, but in the bottom of the 12th inning, Winker had another clutch hit, this time a walkoff single to end the game 5-4 and complete the sweep.

Robbie Ray had a strong 6-inning start, but it was reliever Yohan Ramirez that pitched the 12th inning and picked up the win, striking out two and walking two. Joel Payamps was charged with the loss after giving up the walkoff hit without recording an out. The Mariners utilized 7 total pitchers, while the Royals had 8. 

Final (12): Mariners 5-4 Royals

Most Notable Player: Jesse Winker (1-5, 2 RBI, GWRBI)

Takeaways

Every fan and every member of the Kansas City Royals organization would agree that there is one word that suits this series best: disappointing. Even the bullpen, which has been the brightest star so far this season, was somewhat lackluster in games 2 and 3. The biggest downfall of the team this season, besides offensive production in general, has been missed opportunities. It seems as if all season, the Royals have had runners in scoring position and have failed to have any runs to show for it. This series is a prime example. With RISP these past three games, the team went 0-4, 3-14, and 1-14. Any team cannot expect to win games with numbers as abysmal as these, especially not a team that struggles in nearly every aspect offensively. In terms of positive takeaways, the offense showed some flashes of improvement in games 2 and 3, but still showed little consistent production. Not a whole lot to feel good about in this weekend series except that it’s over. 

Looking Ahead

The Royals will have a rest day Monday before continuing the road stand into Chicago to face a talented but depleted White Sox team. The Sox are coming into the series on a 7-game losing streak, and the Royals will look to extend it while breaking their own 4-game streak. They will face a tough pitching slate with Dallas Keuchel, Dylan Cease, and Michael Kopech scheduled to start. The Royals will also bring their best and brightest, with Greinke and Keller as the expected starters Wednesday and Thursday.