It’s been awhile since the Kansas City Royals have played meaningful September baseball, and it’s a feeling the club wants to get used to.
The Royals sit three games behind the American League Central-leading Cleveland Guardians. Kansas City, currently in the second AL wild-card slot, is two games behind the Baltimore Orioles for the top wild card and 2 1/2 games ahead of the Minnesota Twins, who hold the third and final playoff spot.
Friday was a perfect night for Kansas City, as Cleveland, Baltimore and Minnesota each lost, while the Royals (81-67) took the first game in a three-game series in host Pittsburgh, 8-3. The teams will meet again on Saturday.
Just one season removed from a 56-106 record, the Royals gained their 81st win on Friday to guarantee their first .500 season since an 81-81 finish in 2016. The franchise last appeared in the postseason in 2015 as World Series champions.
After a seven-game losing streak, the Royals have won six of their past eight games.
“We need to keep winning,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “This is a highly contested race for the playoffs. We know that every day is important, and we know that all we can do in a day is win one game. We want to just keep putting our best foot forward every day.”
Kansas City benefited from a six-run second inning Friday, breaking the game open early. Salvador Perez, Kyle Isbel and Adam Frazier each homered, while Alec Marsh struck out a season-high 11 over 5 1/3 innings.
The Royals will hand the ball to veteran right-hander Michael Wacha (12-7, 3.34 ERA) on Saturday. He will look to build off his 2-0 win Sunday over Minnesota in a game in which he struck out seven over seven scoreless innings.
In 18 career appearances (16 starts) against Pittsburgh, Wacha is 7-3 with a 3.68 ERA. Since May 9, he is 11-3 with a 2.62 ERA.
For the Pirates (70-77), the longest National League postseason drought will continue another year. Pittsburgh is out of playoff contention, missing the playoffs for a ninth straight year.
Nonetheless, the Pirates are going down with a fight and will look to play spoiler over the final two weeks of the regular season. Prior to Friday’s loss, Pittsburgh had won four straight games.
Friday’s starter, Luis Ortiz, struggled, allowing seven runs (four earned) over four innings, while the Pittsburgh offense mustered just one run before the ninth.
Ortiz’s outlook on the rest of the year is applicable to the entire team with 15 games left.
“It’s really important to finish the season strong,” Ortiz said. “Just have to continue to work hard and put together good outings.”
Mitch Keller (11-9, 3.85 ERA) will take the mound for Pittsburgh on Saturday, vying to build on what has been a solid 2024 campaign. Last time out, Keller struck out eight and allowed two runs over six innings, but earned a no-decision in a loss to the Washington Nationals on Saturday.
Keller has faced Kansas City once in his career, surrendering four runs over 2 1/3 innings in a 9-6 loss on April 28, 2021.
–Field Level Media
