The season is on the ropes | Kansas City Royals Podcast

The season is on the ropes | Kansas City Royals Podcast

The Royals life meter on the season is blinking. We’ll give you our thoughts on it next on Locked on Royals. You are Locked on Royals, your daily Kansas City Royals podcast, part of the Locked on Podcast Network, your team every day. You are tuning in to Locked on Royals in the Lockdown Podcast Network. I’m your host, Jack Johnson, and you can find me on Twitter at johnnyj_15. That is joyj_15. You also can listen to us on wherever you listen to podcasts. That can be Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, Google Podcast, Odyssey, and YouTube. Just be sure to hit the follow button and subscribe. For those first time listeners wondering how this channel works, I bring you episodes Monday through Friday. Though, this week is going to be a little bit different. Um, didn’t have an episode out last night. I promise I’m going to make that up today. So, we have the episode this afternoon and then I will be bringing you an episode later on tonight after the game. So, anytime I don’t get you the Monday through Friday schedule, I’ll always try to make up that e extra episode either over the weekend or just do two episodes in one day. Uh, but we also had the Lockdown Royals postcast which is hosted by Chance Lebo and he goes to you live for about 15 to 20 minutes after each and every game. Now, before we get started, I want to tell you that today’s show is brought to you by Monarch Money. And take control of your finances with Monarch Money and use code locked on MLB at monarchmoney.com for 50% off on your first year. Well, it doesn’t take a genius to tell you that the Royals season is really on the ropes at this point. Uh they fall last night to Cleveland two to nothing. Never really threatened Joey Cantillo. Noah Cameron was phenomenal. It was great to see him getting the swing and miss again. I thought he was really sharp over seven, but this late in the season, those starts can’t really be squandered. Really, you never want to squander any of those starts, but the fact that he was so good against the team you’re chasing and you just needed to get a couple, avocant, uh, it makes that that loss sting a lot worse. And now Cleveland, they’ve built a little bit of a cushion between you and them. and they’re now much closer to Seattle than you are. You’re four games back, 17 to go. The playoff odds are going to tell you it’s just not in the cards this year. And I’m not going to come on any of these podcasts and say that, you know, the season’s over until they are mathematically eliminated. Just don’t want to do that. Don’t want to have the gotcha moment where for whatever reason they go on a tear and I’ve already said the season’s over. But we can be realistic and we can be truthful. I’m not going to be a sunshine. you know, guy here and be that ray of light and say everything’s going to be fine and they’re going to be redot because I’ve got no basis for that. Uh they’ve been horrible in the last three games. They haven’t won since Saturday and in these three games that they’ve lost, Seattle’s won all three and Texas has won all three and Cleveland has won all three. So, it’s been really the worst three game stretch that you’ve had in a long, long time. And there’s many things that we can point to as to why they are where they are. Injuries have been one of them. Offensive struggles have absolutely been a big issue for this team. But last night, it just was such a a a sleepy performance, if you will, from the offense. I mean, they threatened a little bit in the ninth inning where you have first and third, one out. Your number three and number four hitter coming up. Yes. against a great arm in Kate Smith, but Vinnie Bascantino’s been hitting over 300 in the seventh inning or later. Salvador Perez 300 or better, seventh inning or later, and all Kate Smith did was really throw fast balls. And yes, they were up in the zone. Uh, and I just go back to a few times I’ve said this this year. It feels with the 2025 Royals that anytime there’s a moment like that, there’s this big gamechanging moment, whether it be when they’re on the mound or when they’re at the plate, they don’t come through. And last year’s team just found a way to come through time and time again. I mean, it was almost unprecedented. It was just incredible to see the 2024 Royals come through in big spots like that. You know, two outs, second and third, you’re down by one. they came through or at least it felt like they did. This team, it feels that anytime there’s a moment like that, the worst outcome’s going to happen. Now, the worst outcome last night would have been Vinnie Pascantino grounding into a double play and Salvador Perez doesn’t even get a chance. But this was certainly the second worst outcome. Strikeout, strikeout, you don’t even score the run. Uh Bobby Wood Jr. never gets a chance to steal second. I honestly thought they might try to do that. I mean, you’ve got somebody with the one of the fastest sprint speeds in all of baseball and he’s not able to get to second base. I know you don’t want to get thrown out there. I felt that was a worthy time to do it. I felt that was a very acceptable time to take the risk and if you get thrown out, you still have the tying run at the dish. It’s just it’s been a frustrating three days as we all know. Uh Monday’s game that was a disaster. We talked about that in the podcast. It was an absolute nightmare of a game. And then last night wasn’t a nightmare of a game, but I would argue it was almost more frustrating. It was something that you’re you’re watching this this great start from Noah Cameron and you felt good every time he was out there on the mound, but then offensively nobody did anything. Uh nobody was hitting the ball that hard. Nobody was, you know, moving anybody over. Not there was anybody to move over to begin with. Uh Jack Kaggleó put one to the warning track in right field and if I’m being honest with you that might be the only time I remember a ball getting to the warning track in that game. Uh now the Guardians made a couple of diving plays. Steven Quan did. Anel Martinez did as well in center. So the the Guardians were on top of their game last night pitching and defense. Uh, but that’s one where you look at the way Cameron, you know, looked all all night long and you realize that, you know, he was going to be rusty in his first start since having that extended rest. He wasn’t that sharp before he had that that one missed start. And this is what Noah Cameron used to look like when he was really dominating and shoving every time he took the ball and you waste a start like that. and now you’re four games back. And I don’t fault anybody listening this morning and, you know, going into the game tonight. I if you just don’t have much enthusiasm or much excitement for tonight’s game, I’m happy Jonathan Bolan gets the opportunity to go out there and and start this bullpen game out on the right foot. We’ll talk about it more in the third segment, but I I’m not using must-win game. Uh because even if they do win, there’s no guarantee their playoff odds improve. Uh that’s what makes it so tough to to get excited about that, you know, there’s going to be 16 games left after tonight. And if Seattle continues to beat up on on the the Cardinals and the Rangers continue their ridiculous stretch and and sweeping the Brewers of all teams, I mean, you’re just you’re running out of time at this point. The life meter is blinking as I’ve I’ve been opening up the show talking about. And this team is one game away from being back to 500. If they don’t make the postseason, the consolation prize that I’m hoping for is that they finish with a winning record. Uh, still because you can stack up winning records. You put together multiple years where you’re just in contention in September each and every year. As a Royals fan, I can take that because you’ve had so many years where you were out of it by May. And so, it has been nice to see this team be in it and be fighting for a playoff spot up until the final month of the season. But it also makes it that much more painful that they were right there on Friday night. You’re going into Saturday. You dominate the Twins, but in that same day, the Rangers, you know, they they did lose and and I want to say Cleveland lost that game as well, but Seattle won. And Seattle hasn’t lost since Friday. And now they’re back home and they’re in the the comfort of Safe Cove Field and that’s where they play really good baseball. And yes, you still have the Mariners coming to Kansas City next week, but at that point, what do the standings look like? I’ve said before, and I’ll say it again, you want to be at bare minimum three games back for that just cuz a sweep could tie you with them. But that’s not even the whole story anymore. If you sweep Seattle, there’s still a chance that the Rangers have have leapfrogged them and now they are the team that you’re chasing. And yes, you’ve got the the tiebreaker in going six and one against the Rangers, but you know, there’s no guarantee that if you sweep Seattle that you’re going to be in a playoff spot. Not with the way the Rangers have looked. And you know, time’s just been running out for for a while now. And it didn’t feel that way last Friday when they beat the Twins and they were a game back. It felt like you had all the time in the world and you were right there. you had that perfect opportunity to finally put yourself back in a playoff spot and then you lose three in a row. That game on Sunday is starting to sting a hell of a lot more than it did back then. I mean, it it feels pretty heavy now. That loss on Sunday, 5 to one to a bad Twins team and Bailey Ober that just bled into this Cleveland series. and you have not played good baseball whatsoever other than Noah Cameron in these first two games and now you’re in danger of losing the series tonight. You’ve already lost the season series so you do not have the tiebreaker over Cleveland. But if you lose tonight uh and if Seattle wins and now you’re five back. I mean I as much as I said I’m not going to say the season’s over until they’re mathematically eliminated uh you’re going and facing their best arm and Gavin Williams tomorrow. Steven Kolick throwing after a bullpen game. what odds are we talking about now? So, yes, I mean, tonight you can feel good if they win and Seattle loses and the Rangers lose and hey, now you’re only three games back. Uh, but I just I don’t feel good whatsoever. Cleveland continues to be a a nightmare of a place for the Royals to play. And now they’re only one game over 500, trail by four games, trail both the Rangers and Guardians in the wildard race. Not much time left and there’s not much hope left for the Royals in 2025. We’ll take our first break of the show. When we come back, how have the Royals stayed alive this long with an offense that has performed like this? We’ll tell you next on Locked on Royals. You are tuning in to Lockdown Royals in the Locked On podcast network. I your host Jack Johnson and you can listen to our podcast wherever you download them. Want to tell you about the title sponsor in Monarch Money. Most people can’t name all their financial accounts or even what they’re worth, whether it’s 401ks, properties, or investments. And when you don’t have the full picture, you can end up leaving money on the table. That’s why there is Monarch Money. It’s an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean, easy to use interface on your laptop or on your phone. Monarch is built for people with busy lives. If you put off organizing your finances, Monarch is for you. Monarch does the heavy lifting for you. You can link all of your accounts in minutes, see clear data visuals, get smart categorization of your spending, and finally feel in control of your money without ever touching a spreadsheet. Don’t let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. And use code lockdown MLB at monarchmoney.com in your browser for half off on your first year. That’s 50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com with code locked on MLB. I saw a couple tweets about this uh last night following the Royals two to nothing loss at the hands of the Cleveland Guardians that really how is this team only four games back with the way the offense has played for the entirety of this season? And I believe it’s an easy question to answer. The pitching staff’s been really good. They have a top five bullpen erra. Their rotation is able to rack up the quality starts though they haven’t really done it in the second half. They have, you know, a lot of stability there with Michael Waka, Noah Cameron, Ryan Berard, Seth Lugo before he signed the extension. They haven’t had the greatest of years from Cole Reagan’s. Of course, his season, you know, could be ended now that the Royals are falling further and further out of contention. And if the Royals are out of contention by the end of the weekend, there’s really no need to bring Cole Reagan’s back unless he is just dying to get back on the mount, which I’m sure he is. But you got to be smart about it. There is no reason to pitch Cole Reagan’s if the Royals are five to six games back of a playoff spot with 10 games to go. It just it doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Uh but for this pitching staff to keep the team in it to have this type of depth, it is so vitally important for the future success of the Royals because that has been what has changed really the landscape and the outlook of this ball club. They have better pitching. They have a legitimate and top tier pitching coach, multiple ones at that. And that raises the floor of your team each and every year. What I so desperately hope happens in the off season, whether this team pulls off a miracle or this team is just able to rally like we’ve never seen them do all season long. I want them to find that same type of depth for the offense that they do with this pitching staff because that’s what it it boils down to. Why are they still in contention technically? Why haven’t they been mathematically eliminated? Their pitching staff, their bullpen, the depth of both. We have not talked enough about the depth of this bullpen. They lose Hunter Harvey early on in the season. Steven Cruz steps up, right? You know, I feel that Anel Serba has actually turned in a pretty good season this year. He’s thrown a lot of innings. That’s important. They’ve hit on Carlos Estz. John Shriber has been what John Shriber’s been since coming over to Kansas City. Um, you also had, you know, Luender Avala kind of late in the season come up and and eat some innings for you. You know, you’ve had guys that have given you, you know, big- time innings this year, both starting and in relief. And it’s why you’re going to see the Royals continuously be this level. If they just have a great pitching staff and a bad offense, they’ll be a 500 team. They’ll be somebody that for the entire year they’re going to be able to compete for a playoff spot. And that’s it’s good news. That is obviously the good news going into the offseason. And on top of that, it means that you can go into the off season fully putting your attention into the offense. You don’t need to worry about adding any pitching. I really don’t believe so. Your bullpen has more than enough guys that you can keep for next year. Estz is back. Lucas Ersk is back. Steven Cruz replace Hunter Harvey with know John Shriber. Maybe you look into a one-year deal. Maybe you don’t need to. If not, Anel Ser is back. Daniel Lynch is back. You know, Steven Ka can be in that bullpen. You can have uh maybe someone like if Ryan Burger, you know, is not going to be in the rotation, he can be in the bullpen. I only say that cuz Cole Reagan is going to be back. Chris Bubich is going to be back. Noah Cameron’s there. Luga and Luga and Waka. There’s your five right there. So, is Ryan Berett still in the rotation? I guess we’ll see. And maybe they keep him stretched out or Steven Coach stretched out in Omaha to begin next year. Alec Marsh can be a bullpen piece that we can we can talk about a little bit more. Luenda Ravala, Jonathan Bolan, those are two other guys you can have. So, I feel you can put all your attention to the offense, and that’s what needs to be the top priority. We we talked about the priority list about 365 days ago, what they’re going to need to do. And maybe we held off a little bit longer because this team made it to October, got into the postseason. Um, you know, you’re going to need to find more than a leadoff hitter. You’re going to need to find more than a middle- of the order bat. You need depth for this team. This offense has zero depth. And with as much as Motero tries to construct and move around this lineup, you cannot run back the same bench that you’ve had this year. There are too many non-threats coming off the bench that you try to to pencil in with this lineup. You try to make it work with this lineup. And this lineup can work if you have that type of depth. If you go out there and find some lefty killers, you know, hitting from the right side, you find an equal platoon partner for Kyle Lisbell in center field, you find a legitimate bat for left field, Jack Kaggleon can bounce back, you figure out what you want to do at second base, then you can be talking about an offense that’s middle of the pack, maybe maybe even the top half of the American League. Now, that’s a big if. They’re going to need to move around a lot of pieces there, but there are some foundational pieces that we continuously talk about. You have Bobby Whit Jr., you have Mel Garcia, you have Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez likely is going to be back. There’s four bats right there that you can feel pretty good about. All right, so now you need to figure out the other five spots. Okay, well, if it’s center field, I’d imagine Kyle Lisbell is going to be back. And if you have Kyle Isbel back, I want a platoon right right-handed bat for center field that can handle center field as well. That I feel has avoided the Royals the last couple of years. I don’t want Kyle Isel to be an everyday player. And for the most part, he’s been a platoon player. But you need somebody that can handle center field nearly as good as him and have a bat that’s around what he’s giving you. And he’s a slightly below average bat, can hit 260. Uh he’s going to hit in the nine hole. That’s fine if you can find that in free agency. So, there’s the fifth spot you don’t have to worry about. Okay, number six, right field. It’s probably going to be Jack Kaggleon. I don’t believe they’re going to punt on Jack Kagleone, nor should they. He needs to be your right fielder. Maybe you look into bringing back Mike Stressky, but if that runs into a one or the other, I’m going to roll with Jack Kagleon there. Mikey Strremsky is going to be 35 in the off season. He is a platoon bat only. I want Kaggleó playing every single day, but he absolutely has to be better than he was last year. In left field, that needs to be your home run free agent signing or trade. You need to find somebody that can be a serious middle-ofthe-art thumper and you haven’t had that all season long, and you didn’t have that last off season. I’m only willing to bank on one bounceback player, and that’s Jack Kagleion. If you want to level out this offense and you want this offense to be middle of the pack, maybe top half of the American League to pair with this pitching staff and bullpen that are top five, then you need to not have three bounceback players. That’s what they had. That’s actually what they had on opening day. Bounceback candidate in Cavin Bishio, bounceback candidate in Hunter Renfro, bounceback candidate in MJ Melendez. Now, they banked on Michael Massie being much better than he was this year. And same thing for Jonathan India. But that’s another part of this team that I want them to figure out. Jonathan India is not going to be a super cheap player next year. Do you just cut ties and move on from him and roll with Michael Massie? Technically, that’s now counting on two bounceback players. I mean, the only second baseman that really pops off the page for me is Luis Arise in free agency. And the only reason I say that is that Luis Arise is somebody the Royals have had interest in before, at least reportedly had interest in before. I mean, if you’re already getting bad defense from Jonathan India, I’d rather have a a guy that never strikes out, can hit 285 and play second base for you. Now, Arise has bounced around a little bit. He’s been a first baseman in San Diego, but maybe move him back to second and it’s just fine there. But that’s something I want them to look into. You cannot go back to the drawing board after this year, no matter how it ends up, and just count on some bounceback guys. We have now seen too many years in a row where these bounceback guys aren’t going to give you the year that you’re hoping for. You need to be hitting on some big league players that are above average bats and you need the depth for that bench. You got to mirror what you’ve done with your pitching stats. It’s easier said than done, but there are too many guys that are way underperforming for this ball club, and it’s why they sit where they are. The pitching staff has kept them in it, but the offense has also held them back. Okay, we’re going to move on to our final segment. And for that final segment, we’ll talk about tonight. We’ll talk about Michael Waka. Another bullpen game for the Royals, another stint for a crucial starter. We’ll dive into that next on Lockown Royals. You are tuning to Lockdown Royals in the Lockdown Podcast Network. I’m your host, Jack Johnson, and you can follow me on Twitter at johnnyj_15. Want to tell you about game time. And there’s nothing like catching a baseball game live. The energy, the crowd, the chance to see your team in person. But actually getting tickets, that’s the tough part. Cues, login screens, surprise fees, it takes all the fun out of it. That’s why I use Game Time, the app that gives the advantage back to fans. Game time is the fast, easy, and backed by Game Time guarantee. You’ll always get 100% authentic tickets delivered on time and at the best price. Plus, all fees are included, so the price you see is the price you pay. Download the Game Time app, create an account, and use code locked on MLB for $20 off on your first purchase. Those terms apply. So again, use that promo code locked on MLB. That’s L O C D O N L M L M L MLB for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go. Download Game Time today. as we already touched on uh earlier in today’s episode. And I do want to give one last reminder because I didn’t have an episode out last night. Having this episode this afternoon, gonna have another one later on tonight uh so I can make up for the absence of Tuesday’s episode. But we we should be normal for the rest of the week. Uh bullpen game tonight in Cleveland. Royals four games back at Seattle. They’re now trailing Cleveland by a couple of games. Jonathan Bolan is going to be getting the ball. And we’ll start with the positive here. I love that Jonathan Bowen’s getting a chance and I love that Jonathan Bowen is finishing the year the way that he has been. I talked to Motr last home stand about Jonathan Bowen. He said, “Look, it we never demoted him because we felt he wasn’t good enough. We only had to demote him because he was that guy with options and to construct a roster throughout the entirety of that year, you’re going to need that guy who almost falls on the sword for you. He’s got options where another guy doesn’t. And if we can send him down and keep him fresh and call him back up when when we can or whenever we can, you’re going to need to utilize that that situation. And the Royals had way too many guys in that bullpen that were just out of options. So Jonathan Bolan, even though he had stuff that could play up and I thought has been really impressive for the majority of this year, he had to be that guy that was just on the the taxi basically going back and forth between Kansas City and Omaha. But tonight, a good opportunity to get this game off on the right foot. Back-to-back games where Ryan Burgerer and Noah Cameron, even though Cameron was very sharp last night, they gave up a run in the first inning. I’d expect Jonathan Bolan to work about two innings, maybe three, depending on how he’s going. And I like his power stuff to to play against that that Guardians lineup. I’m not sure who’s going to be in that lineup for Cleveland tonight. I can guarantee Steven Quan’s going to be there. I can guarantee Jos Ramirez will be. I can guarantee Kyle Manzardo will be and he’s going to be tasked at least one time through the order to keep those guys at bay. And then you’re going to be turning it over to guys probably like uh I can see Serpa even though he threw last night getting an opportunity in this game. John Shriber, even though he did pitch last night, he should have an opportunity. Daniel Lynch, he threw on Monday so he should be available for tonight’s game. Sam Long, another guy that you could maybe be looking to. Also, how about Big Lou? Luender Ravala. Uh he should be able to get a couple of innings of work tonight depending how this game is going. Fingers crossed the Royals can score five or six off Logan Allen in the first two innings and Jonathan Bowen looks good. And you turn it over to Luender Rava to get some work in because at this point in the season, look, you’re not a game back anymore. You’re four games back. I I want to see a little bit of what Luender Ravala can do in a in a big game like this. Uh because even if you do win, it doesn’t mean you get any closer to the postseason. It keeps you alive a day longer. But I would say that he’s somebody I want to see throw tonight. Uh now the reason they’re going with this bullpen game is you’ve got Michael Walk on the injured list, the concussion list, uh for an off-field incident. They didn’t really dive into it. I’m not sure if we’re ever going to get the official word on what happened unless Michael Walka is to open up about it. But man, that just goes to or that that’s just another thing that you add to this season and goes to show you how unfortunate it’s been for this this rotation. The injuries they’ve had when they’ve had these injuries. I mean, you talk about the biggest series of the year against Cleveland and just Cleveland specifically, not the biggest series of the year. Michael Walk is your most consistent arm. You’re looking to him to be that guy that can maybe swing the series in game three. and he has an off-field accident that results in him winding up at the concussion list. First and foremost, I hope the best for Michael Walka. There’s I’m not making light of the situation. It’s just a a bad luck situation. It’s a bad luck scenario. And Michael Walk is somebody that’s been the most consistent arm for the Royals. And now you have to turn to a bullpen game and then turn it over to Steven Kick tomorrow who only is going to be making his third start with the Royals. So, you need your bullpen to be really on it tonight against a team you have not been able to contain through the first two games of this series. It’ll be nice to see Bolan get some work and probably Avala get some work, but that’s not good to have when you’re already facing Gavin Williams tomorrow, who’s the Guardian’s best arm, and you’re going to be throwing somebody who you had to call up to replace another guy in your rotation. I mean, as I said, the the injury list for this team, especially the starters, has been absurd. Jake Eisenberg, you know, broadcaster for the Royals, pointed this out when Walker went on the injured list. All five guys they began the year with for their opening day roster have wound up on the injured list at some point in the season. At one point or another, they have wound up on the injured list. Cole Reagan’s, he has not pitched for this team since June. Uh Michael Walker concussion list and he had been the one who had put it off the longest. he had survived the most of this season without having his name on the injury list. Then you have uh uh Seth Lugo who winds up on the the 15-day with the the back injury. Also missed a start or two with the blister on his finger way way back and I want to say June or July. Uh so you have him Noah Cameron’s missed a start, right? but he also had to come up to replace somebody. And Chris Bubich is somebody that had his season ended as well. So you have all these guys that have wound up on the 10day, the 7-day, the 15-day. It’s it’s been so unfortunate for that group. And we know it’s the lifeblood. We know it’s the strength of this team. And to have that, that kind of plays into our second segment as well. It’s why this team is where they are. Now, the bullpen much improved from a year ago. The rotation, they’ve regressed. And yes, part of that has been due to overall production. Seth Lugo has not been as good. You know, Cole Reagan’s has certainly not been as good. Those were your number one and number two guys. And durability, yes, absolutely has been a problem, but the numbers haven’t been there. And those were two guys that finished top three in Sai Young voting last year. So just right right there, that information for you tells you why the rotation hasn’t been the same. And you’ve had to pull from Omaha. You’ve had to make trades to piece together this rotation. You’ve had to go with bullpen games, and it’s incredibly frustrating. But I do tip my cap to a lot of these guys that have been able to step up and give the Royals big time innings to keep him in it. But that just can’t be the theme moving forward. That can’t be a a part of this team moving forward. You want to have that depth and they certainly have it. But going in the next year, they can’t afford Cole Reagan’s to miss basically the entire year, have a five plus ERA and and start less than than 12 games on the year. They can’t have Seth Lugo pitch the way that he has in the second half. They can’t be having Michael Walka miss time on the injured list for off-field incidents, you know, with with the season on the line. Now, I I don’t know the incident, so we’ll just say we’re glad Michael Walka seems to be okay. That’s what Matro said, but it’s going to keep him out for at least a week. But that’s just the the unlucky part of it. That’s the bad luck part of it. That can’t happen this late in the season. And then you’ve got Chris Bubich. Maybe we should have expected it, right? He wasn’t stretched out to be a 200 inning guy. Uh you’re hoping for better results next year. The numbers were there, but the durability when it was all said and done just wasn’t there. So, Michael Lorenzan, he he’s the last guy I forgot to me mention there. He’s wound up on the injured list. I kept saying the injured list earlier. I meant to say the injured list. You You know what I was getting at here. You know what I was was trying to say. Yeah, the injured list. Michael Lorenzan is been on it now twice. So, he missed, you know, time with the oblique injury and missed some starts. So, to have all five guys at one point wind up on the injured list, that’s unfortunate, man. That’s that’s really really tough to see. But, they’ve had some guys step up tonight. They’re going to need Jonathan Bowen to step up in a big big way. Uh they’re going to need to save this bullpen a little bit for Steven Co tomorrow in the series finale, which first pitch for that game, I believe, will be at 6:15. Tonight it’ll be at 5:40 yet again. Well, that’ll do it for our first episode of the day for Lockdown Royals in the Lockdown Podcast Network. I’ve been your host, Jack Johnson. Thank you for making Lockdown your first listen every day. For your second, find the allnight locked on MLB game night. Every game, every night, until a World Series champion is crowned. Get local analysis on a national scale and find MLB Game Night on Lockdown MLB on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast. Well, later on tonight, we’re just going to recap what happens in game three between the Royals and the Guardians. But until then, you take it easy, Kansas City.

After another loss, we discuss the Royals’ playoff odds slowly fading away. Next, we ask how this team has stayed in the race this long without much of an offense. Lastly, we preview tonight’s bullpen game.

Host Jack Johnson goes over it all next on “Locked On Royals”!

0:00 – Life meter
11:47 – Great pitching, bad offense
21:56 – Bullpen game

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/podcasts/locked-on-royals/

Locked On MLB League-Wide: Every Team, Prospects & More
🎧 https://lockedonpodcasts.com/leagues/mlb/

#Royals #KansasCityRoyals #MLB

5-Hour ENERGY
Tee up that trip! Enter for a chance to win a dream golf trip for two to any golf tournament* in the USA. Visit https://5HEWIN.com for full rules and entry. No purchase necessary. Excludes the Master’s tournament. Ends October 31, 2025.

Nutrafol
See thicker, stronger hair with less shedding in just 3–6 months with Nutrafol. For a limited time, get $10 off your first month’s subscription and free shipping when you go to https://Nutrafol.com and enter the promo code LOCKEDONMLB.

Zippix
Go to https://ZippixToothpicks.com and use promo code LOCKEDON for 10% off your first order. Zippix Toothpicks—energy and focus, anytime you need it.

PrizePicks
Download the PrizePicks app today and use code LOCKEDONMLB to get $50 in lineups after you play your first $5 lineup.
PrizePicks — Run Your Game.
Click Link Here: https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONMLB

Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONMLB at https://monarchmoney.com/lockedonmlb for 50% off your first year.

Gametime
Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONMLB for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.

FanDuel
Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner, visit the FanDuel App today and start planning your futures bets now.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)