I’m still trying to figure out how the Royals didn’t make the playoffs this season after doing so in 2024. I know that I’ve been preaching since the beginning of the season that success one season does not beget success the following season. Success isn’t a gradually increasing line. It would be great if that were the case, but it’s not.

Still, with the season all but concluded, we can take a look back at the entirety of the season and pinpoint some games that, with a different outcome, would have the Royals still battling for a playoff spot during this final series in Sacramento. Additionally, there are other stats that help point out what went wrong.

Before diving into specific games, here are some of those stats from 2025:

The Royals were shutout 15 times.The Royals suffered eight walkoff losses.The Royals bullpen blew 37 leads (including games in which the Royals eventually won).The Royals lost 18 games by at least five runs.

Those numbers aren’t great. Here are some records against other teams that, again, change an outcome or two, and the Royals are playing meaningful baseball tonight:

0-6 against the Yankees0-3 against the Athletics (entering September 26)5-8 against the Guardians4-9 against the Tigers7-6 against the Twins3-3 against the Angels3-3 against the Cardinals3-3 against the Rays

The Royals still beat up on the White Sox this year, but barely winning a 13-game season-series against the 69-90 Twins hurts. Going a combined 9-17 against the top two teams in the Central also stings. The Angels, Rays, and Cardinals are all under .500—playoff teams need to beat up on those teams, and the Royals didn’t, instead going 9-9.

Pinpointing specific games, the Royals lost five different games by either the score of 1-0 or 2-0.

The first of those losses occurred on May 17 against the Cardinals. Noah Cameron, making one of his first starts, held the Cardinals to one run over 6-and-1/3 innings, surrendering a solo home run to Jordan Walker in the top of the sixth. The Royals offense actually outhit the Cardinals, 4-2, but the Royals could plate a run as they fell to 25-22.

About two weeks later, the Royals dropped another game 1-0, again at home, but this time against Detroit. Kris Bubic went seven strong, striking out nine while walking two and allowing only four hits. In the third, the Tigers scored on a wild pitch, and that’s all she wrote—despite collecting nine hits, the Royals failed to score.

Eleven days later, what do you now, the Royals again lost 1-0, once more at home, this time to the Yankees to fall to 34-35. Seth Lugo—remember when he was good?—pitched well before turning it over to the bullpen. Paul Goldschmidt singled off Lucas Erceg to drive in someone named Pablo Reyes. The Royals mustered five hits, including a triple by Nick Loftin, but never scored.

In less than a month, the Royals suffered three 1-0 shutouts at home. Not great, Bob.

It wouldn’t be until September that such indignities returned. In Cleveland on September 9th, the Royals, needing a win to stay in it, instead lost 2-0 as the offense collected five hits and zero walks versus seven strikeouts. None of the hits were for more than a single.

Nine days later, on September 18, a day before they’d muscle 20 runs, the Royals were shutout in a Thursday afternoon snoozer. Stephen Kolek pitched incredibly well against a playoff-bound Mariners team. The Royals made noise in the bottom of the ninth before Adam Frazier struck out with runners on first and second to end the game. Final: Seattle 2, Kansas City 0.

As mentioned above, the Royals lost eight games via walkoff. That includes an early season 3-2 defeat against the Brewers that went into extra innings; a May 13 defeat to the Astros by the score of 2-1; consecutive losses to the Twins on May 23 and 24, 3-1 and 5-4, respectively; two walkoff losses in June, one to each of the Cardinals and Padres; an 8-7 loss versus Miami on July 18; and, finally, a 5-3 defeat once again at the hands of the Twins on August 10.

That’s a list of 13 games in which the Royals went 0-13. Change the outcome of six of those, and the Royals are not only battling for a Wild Card but the Central Division crown. And they’d still be under .500 in these games! They’d be 6-7! Give them a winning record and the Royals could, theoretically, be atop the AL Central.

I know I’m cherry-picking, but getting shutout hurts.

Getting shutout at home stings.

Getting shutout at home and losing by just a single run burns.

Getting walked off scalds.

Doing it all 13 times ruins your season.