The Kansas City Royals ended 2026 on a winning note, and Vinnie Pasquantino made sure the finish had some punch.
Pasquantino hit two solo home runs, including the one that finally broke a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning, and the Royals beat the Guardians 3-2 on Sunday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. It was a fitting close to a frustrating season, one that left Kansas City with more questions than answers even after the final out.
The Royals had opened the scoring in the first when Salvador Perez delivered an RBI single for a 1-0 lead. That edge didn’t last long. Cleveland kept answering, first with a Daniel Schneemann homer and then with Jo Adell’s 440-foot blast into the left-center fountains off Royals starter Daniel Lynch IV to even things at 2 in the sixth.
Pasquantino changed the mood in a hurry. His eighth-inning shot put Kansas City back in front for good, and Lucas Erceg finished it off with a save in the ninth.
The final homer was just the latest big swing in a strong closing stretch for Pasquantino. He has hit safely in 47 of his last 56 games, and he wrapped up the final homestand with three homers and nine RBIs.
Lynch’s day was a mixed bag, but it still counted as a step forward after his rough outing against the Chicago White Sox, when he allowed nine earned runs. Against Cleveland, he went 5 1/3 innings, gave up seven hits and struck out two. It was his final start of the season, and it leaves the Royals with an important decision to sort through this winter.
Lynch showed earlier in the year that he could be effective as a left-handed specialist out of the bullpen, but his work in the rotation was uneven. He finishes 2026 with a 4.08 ERA across 86 innings, including 10 starts, and Kansas City went 6-4 in those games.
That pitching dilemma loomed large all year. The Royals’ rotation was hit hard by injuries, and the bullpen repeatedly let leads slip away. Kansas City blew 44 games after taking the lead in 2026, which is a brutal number any way you slice it.
The season ends at 69-93 for the Royals. Cleveland, meanwhile, moves on to the Major League Baseball postseason with a bye in the wild-card round after finishing 85-77.
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For Kansas City fans, the appeal is in how differently these two players arrive at the same stage. Walcott is trying to show hes past the interruption and ready to keep moving forward, while Gomez is being asked to handle a major jump in competition at an age when most players are still years away from that kind of test. It makes for a fascinating fall assignment, even if the real payoff may not come until later. [Read more 🡒]