If there’s one thing the Royals have had a hard time doing this year, it’s finishing off teams in the final game of a series.
Earlier this week, against the Nationals, Kansas City had a prime opportunity to complete the sweep of a Washington team that’s been the second-worst club in the National League this season. Unfortunately, Seth Lugo wasn’t sharp, the Royals’ bullpen couldn’t keep it tied, and they dropped the final game of the series despite tying it up in the late innings.
For nearly six innings on Sunday, it seemed like the Royals were once again going to drop the final game with a possible sweep on the line.
In the top of the first inning against Royals starter Ryan Bergert, White Sox first baseman Lenyn Sosa launched one over the left field wall.
The White Sox didn’t score another run until the sixth inning, the run coming due to an error in left field by Adam Frazier (though it certainly was a challenging play). Still, that was all White Sox starter Davis Martin needed, as he no-hit the Royals for five innings until Mike Yastrzemski broke it up in the sixth with a bloop double down the line.
I have seen Martin pitch a couple of times in person this year, and he’s an intriguing arm who’s better than his metrics indicate. He is very much like Lugo in his approach in the sense that he doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but when he’s on, he can utilize his vast pitch arsenal and command to induce weak contact and keep runners off the bases.
On Sunday, Martin only had four strikeouts and allowed three walks. That said, his TJ Stats metrics showed that he did a good job of not just generating strikes, but keeping Royals hitters off balance at the plate as well, as demonstrated by his chase rate and xwOBACON.
Again, the stuff wasn’t there really for Martin, though his changeup proved to be a premium pitch on Sunday. Not only did he generate a 44.4% chase on it, but only allowed a .307 xwOBACON on the offering as well. It also sported a 105 TJ Stuff+ and 63 grade, his highest-rated offering on the day in both categories.
Martin hasn’t gotten as much attention as other starter Shane Smith, but he could be a building block of this White Sox rotation for 2026 and beyond, with today showing what he could do against an over-aggressive team.
Thankfully, after the sixth, manager Will Venable pulled Martin, sensing that the Royals were starting to get a read on the 28-year-old starter.
That move helped spark a fun Royals comeback in the blazing August Kansas City heat (which we all know is brutal, as Vinnie hinted to with a popular meme after getting taken out of Saturday’s game due to heat-related reasons).
Another Stellar Outing From Bergert
Before going into the offensive end of the Royals’ comeback, I would be amiss not to mention Ryan Bergert, who has been a revelation for the Royals’ rotation since coming over at the Trade Deadline from San Diego.
In three starts with the Royals, Bergert has a 2.70 ERA and 1.02 WHIP in 16.2 IP. Over those three outings, he has struck out 16 batters while only allowing five walks. He hasn’t gotten his first win as a Royal, but he has kept Kansas City in the game, even if he hasn’t gotten the best run support.
Here’s what his outing looked like today via TJ Stats summary data.
Despite the heat, Bergert showcased premium stuff, as evidenced by his 103 overall TJ Stuff+. His sweeper was his best offering stuff-wise with a 108 TJ Stuff+, but his slider was his most effective in terms of results. The slider, which he threw 29.5% of the time on Sunday, generated a 44.4% chase, 47.1% whiff, and .251 xwOBACON.
Here’s how the slider fared based on his pitch description chart of the offering via Savant.
As Royals fans can see, he induced a lot of whiffs with the pitch. That’s a recipe for success, especially against an inconsistent hitting team like the White Sox.
Here’s a glimpse of all the strikeouts Bergert generated on the afternoon, with most of them coming via the slider.
The Royals are now 63-61, four games behind the Yankees for the final AL Wild Card spot (going 0-6 against them this year certainly hurts). For the Royals to make that push, they need the starting pitching, a strength of theirs all season, to be in prime form down the stretch.
They haven’t gotten that recently, unfortunately. Lugo has been a mess since signing his extension. Bailey Falter has been bad, getting relegated to the bullpen as a result. Michael Wacha and Michael Lorenzen have been solid, but they’re pitchers who could be susceptible to bad outings when hitters are not chasing or locked in to their respective arsenals.
With Cole Ragans‘ return date still TBD, Bergert may be the best arm they have right now in the rotation, especially when it comes to generating strikeouts.
India Moving Down And Coming Up Big
To say it’s been a disappointing first season in Kansas City for Jonathan India would be quite the understatement.
As of Sunday, India is hitting .238 with a .678 OPS in 488 plate appearances. Royals GM JJ Picollo acquired India from the Reds this past offseason to be the Royals’ leadoff man after Maikel Garcia struggled in the role a season ago. However, India has not lived up to expectations, especially on the offensive end.
In 452 plate appearances at leadoff, the 28-year-old former Florida product is hitting .236 with a .659 OPS. He has only five home runs and hasn’t stolen a single base this year.
Thus, with his struggles and the acquisition of Yastrzemski, who hit leadoff at times for the Giants, it made sense for manager Matt Quatraro to move India out of the top spot in the batting order.
Since moving to the seven-hole, things have picked up for India at the plate.
In 25 plate appearances in that spot in the batting order, he has two home runs and is hitting .316 with a 1.036 OPS. On Sunday, with the Royals floundering on the offensive end, he picked up a hanging Steven Wilson breaking ball and launched it 451 feet for a two-run home run to tie the game in the seventh inning.
There’s been plenty of issues with India this year, especially on the defensive end, where he’s been 15 outs below average, according to Savant. That said, he had a good game in the field in Sunday’s win, as he made a great relay throw to gun out Edgar Quero at home and backed up Salvy after the Royals captain misplayed a groundball.
It also seems like India is finally getting into a power groove. Since moving down in the order, his Ideal Attack Angle data has significantly increased, a sign that batting lower in the order has helped take the pressure off of him.
This will be a big stretch for India to prove he belongs in Kansas City in 2026. He will be entering his last year of arbitration, and it’s expected that he will receive a boost to his $7.05 million salary from this season, according to Spotrac. It’s possible that India could be a non-tender candidate this offseason, given the high price tag and overall lackluster play.
A strong finish could make that decision tougher for Picollo as well as help the Royals’ slim playoff chances.
Frazier Continues to Thrive in Kansas City Return
The return of Frazier initially stirred all kinds of polarizing feelings among Royals fans.
While I didn’t mind losing Cam Devanney, it seemed a little peculiar to trade him away for someone like Frazier, who likely would be a free agent next year. Furthermore, Frazier at the surface level didn’t seem to solve any of their issues, especially in the power department, as demonstrated by his TJ Stats profile.
Yes, Frazier didn’t strike out much in Pittsburgh, but his lack of barrels and hard-hits didn’t seem to solve a glaring problem for the Royals’ lineup (they rank 28th in home runs). Despite the initial skepticism, the veteran utility player has provided a much-needed spark.
In 82 plate appearances with the Royals, Frazier is hitting .329 with an .828 OPS. He has two home runs and 13 RBI, with his latest home run being a two-run blast in the bottom of the 8th off of Jordan Leasure that gave Carlos Estevez a comfortable four-run lead in the ninth.
Frazier has helped spark a club that has been 16-11 after the All-Star Break.
At the surface level, one would think that Frazier wouldn’t have any more value than a Cavan Biggio or Michael Massey. And yet, the 33-year-old has not just been a spark in the plate, but has brought a veteran presence in the locker room that has boosted the vibes and impacted the win column.
Sometimes, great play and impact go beyond the metrics. Frazier has been a quintessential example of that in his 1.5 seasons with the Royals.
Can the Royals Continue to Sink a Reeling Rangers Team?
The Royals welcome a four-game set with the Texas Rangers, who are sliding in the Wild Card standings.
Even though they sport an expected W-L of 68-57 (due to a +50 run differential), they are currently 62-63, 5.5 games behind the Yankees in the Wild Card race. Texas has lost four of five, eight of their last ten games, and is 5-11 in August. The Rangers’ slide is a reason why the Royals have been able to pass them in the Wild Card standings.
Kansas City could not just gain ground this week in the Wild Card race by winning the series against the Rangers, but they could also put Texas out of the race as well this week at the K.
It won’t be an easy task for the Royals, especially the hitters.
Texas ranks first in baseball in starting pitcher ERA and WHIP, and will have Jack Leiter, Merrill Kelly, Jacob deGrom, and Patrick Corbin going on the mound. DeGrom will be the toughest matchup of the four, as he has had a renaissance of a season now that he’s fully healthy.
The issue for Texas this year, much like the Royals, has been the hitting.
The Rangers rank 28th in batting average and OPS, 27th in OBP, and 24th in runs scored this season. Corey Seager has had a great season with a 124 wRC+ and 3.1 fWAR, as has Wyatt Langford with a 104 wRC+ and 2.4 fWAR. However, Marcus Semien has been disappointing (84 wRC+), as has Joc Pederson (61 wRC+). Adolis Garcia is also on the IL, though he hasn’t been great, as evidenced by his 80 wRC+ and 0.4 fWAR.
The key to this series will be whether or not the Royals starters can continue to suppress the Rangers lineup, much like they did in June when they outscored the Rangers 14-5 in a sweep at Globe Life Field in Arlington. Wacha, Lugo, Noah Cameron, and Lorenzen will be going in this series, so they have the proven arms to take three of four, maybe all four, if the offense can get to this Rangers pitching staff like they did against the Nationals and White Sox during this homestand.
A bounce-back game in this series for Lugo would be huge, especially since he’s been mediocre since signing his two-year extension. Thankfully, the Rangers’ lineup at home on Tuesday could be precisely the recipe he needs to get back on track.
Photo Credit: Charlie Riedel/AP