The Royals are heading into Queens with a little momentum and a lot to sort out.
After taking two of three from the Phillies to snap their first series win since mid-July, Kansas City opens its final road trip before the All-Star break with a three-game set against the Mets, then finishes the trip in Baltimore. The matchup brings back the 2015 World Series rivals, but the bigger question is whether the Royals can carry over anything from that wild finale in Philadelphia.
That last game against the Phillies was the kind of offensive outburst that barely shows up on a season line. Kansas City piled up 22 hits and 15 runs, scored in every inning, and pulled off a feat that has happened only twice in Royals history.
The last time came in 1998 against the Athletics. The last team in baseball to do it was the 2016 White Sox, and they did it against an NL Cy Young favorite.
Everyone in the lineup except Josh Rojas picked up a hit. “Salvy” and Tyler Tolbert combined to go 8-for-9, Luke Maile launched a three-run homer off Christopher Sanchez, and the Royals did it without Bobby Witt Jr driving in a run.
The problem, of course, is figuring out whether any of that sticks. To open July, Kansas City has gotten strong production from Salvy, Lane Thomas, Isaac Collins, and Tolbert, while the usual names - BWJ, Cags, and Carter Jensen - have been quiet. That makes the Phillies finale look more like an outlier than a new baseline, but if the bats have actually turned a corner, the last stretch before the break could get interesting.
The pitching matchups are still being sorted, but the series is set to feature Seth Lugo in Game One, Christian Scott in Game Two for the Mets, and Michael Wacha against Sean Manaea in the finale. Game One lists Lugo at 3-6 with a 4.20 ERA, while Wacha enters his start at 5-6 with a 3.45 ERA and Manaea is 1-4 with a 5.16 ERA.
Lugo’s start carries a little extra weight because it comes against the team that gave him his beginning. He spent his first seven seasons with the Mets, building a solid run out of the bullpen before leaving in 2023 to rebrand himself as a starter with the Padres. Even with all that history, this will be his first career appearance against New York.
Only four current Mets have any plate appearances against Lugo: Juan Soto, Bo Bichette, Luis Torrens, and Tyrone Taylor. Together, they’ve come to the plate 32 times against him, and Soto accounts for 21 of those. Soto is 4-for-16 against Lugo with five walks and a home run.
Francisco Lindor is the other big name to watch, and the Royals know exactly why. Across 101 games against Kansas City, he has hit .318/.376/.606 with a .982 OPS, plus 29 home runs, 25 doubles, and 81 RBIs.
That said, Lindor has not looked like that version of himself this season. In 2026, he’s hitting .216/.300/.366 with an OPS of .666 and a wRC+ of 88.
There is at least a little room for Kansas City to breathe there, too, depending on how the pitching lines up. Lindor has only had success against Michael Wacha, going 2-for-5 against him. And with Stephen Kolek back on the family medical emergency list, the Royals might turn to Randy Dobnak, against whom Lindor is 4-for-9.
On the other side of the lineup card, Jac Caglianone is in a rough patch after a huge June. He hasn’t had an extra-base hit since his triple against the White Sox on June 26, and he’s 5-for-22 to start July. The bigger concern is the strikeout and walk profile: no walks since June 26, and 16 strikeouts in 12 games.
The position shuffle hasn’t helped, with Caglianone moving between right field and first base, but the slump is still a problem after the way he finished June. If the Royals want to keep the offense rolling, they need him contributing in some way.
For two teams that have both missed the mark this season, this series feels like it may come down to the simplest things: whether Kansas City can keep any offensive spark alive, whether the Mets can get quality starts, and which side makes fewer mistakes in a season full of them.
In Other News...
Royals Just Made A Move That Says Plenty About This Staff
The Royals have added another arm to the organizational mix, signing right-hander Justin Topa to a minor league contract and sending him to Triple-A Omaha. It is the kind of move that rarely turns heads on its own, but it fits the reality Kansas City is dealing with right now as it tries to keep pitching depth intact.
Injuries have already thinned the staff, and the possibility of more turnover before the deadline only makes that depth more important. Topas path has taken him through Minnesota and Seattle before this latest stop, and the Royals are giving themselves another experienced option to lean on if the pitching picture keeps shifting. [Read more 🡒]
Royals Suddenly Face A Trade Deadline Decision That Could Change Everything
With the trade deadline drawing closer, the Royals find themselves juggling more than just their place in the standings. Injuries have thinned the roster, with Kyle Isbel dealing with a setback and Cole Ragans also in the mix, while Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Wacha gave the club at least a little national recognition with All-Star nods. It is the kind of stretch that forces a front office to weigh short-term survival against the bigger picture, especially when the team has already shown it can be pushed around by a rough patch.
The Royals Rundown Podcast dug into that pressure point, along with the recent slide and the kinds of moves that could still be on the table if Kansas City decides to get aggressive. There is also uncertainty around Maikel Garcia, which only adds to the sense that the roster is in flux at exactly the wrong time. The bigger question now is whether the Royals follow a more cautious path or take a page from a rival that chose to act boldly when the deadline arrived. [Read more 🡒]
Former Royals Arm Is Suddenly Raising A Familiar Question Again
Foster Griffins name is back in circulation for all the right reasons, and for Royals fans, it comes with a familiar kind of curiosity. The former Kansas City left-hander has put together a steadier run lately, showing the sort of consistency that can make a pitcher interesting again after a few uneven stretches, even if the control still leaves something to clean up.
Griffins recent work has also put him on the radar as a possible trade piece for Toronto, which is still weighing how aggressive it wants to be on the pitching market. He spent the last few seasons in Japan before signing a one-year deal with the Nationals, and that path has only added to the sense that he could be one of those arms who quietly re-enters the conversation when contenders start looking for depth. [Read more 🡒]