The Kansas City Royals’ struggles in Seattle continued with a 6-2 defeat to the Mariners, marking their eighth consecutive loss in the city. A highlight in an otherwise dim performance came from Michael Massey, who drilled a two-RBI double into the gap, momentarily igniting hope for a Royals’ comeback. The moment was significant enough to be the sole highlight tweeted by both the Kansas City Royals and Bally Sports KC accounts during the game.
The tweet from Bally Sports Kansas City captured Massey’s spark:
“Massey gets the #Royals on the board with a two-RBI double. Watch on Bally Sports, ballysports.com and the Bally Sports app.”
This highlight, however, was a brief respite in a game dominated by Seattle’s prowess. Royals’ pitcher Brady Singer had a tough outing, with the Mariners capitalizing on his shaky performance.
Luke Raley’s homerun in the second inning set the tone, followed by doubles from Cal Raleigh and Dylan Moore. Despite Singer’s struggles through four innings, yielding nine hits and a walk, he managed a cleaner fifth inning and ended with six strikeouts.
The game could have taken a different turn when George Kirby, a strong contender for the AL Cy Young, found himself in a bind early on by loading the bases with no outs. However, the Royals failed to capitalize, with Michael Massey striking out and Nelson Velazquez grounding out, effectively quashing their best opportunity to score.
Even though Massey delivered again in the eighth inning with his double, another chance to score dissolved as Velazquez struck out against the formidable Mariners’ closer Andres Munoz. The Royals’ fleeting momentum was further stifled when Chris Stratton surrendered two runs in the bottom of the eighth, sealing Kansas City’s fate.
Following this loss, the Royals slipped to third place in their division, even as the Cleveland Guardians surged ahead with a late-game rally and the Minnesota Twins enjoyed a day off amidst an impressive winning streak. Despite the setback, if the season were to end today, the Royals would barely clinch the third Wild Card spot, keeping their playoff hopes alive amidst a challenging phase.