Soooo … all this happened Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium:
Jonathan India smacked a grand slam … in the Sonic Slam inning, no less, good for $25,000 for Kevin Younger of Pittsburg.
The Royals got another stellar start out of their promising rotation, with Noah Cameron giving up a lone run in five innings to make it two allowed by starters in 23 1/3 innings over their last four games and a 1.98 ERA once through the rotation.
The much-anticipated development of Jac Caglianone featured a double among his three hits — making for his second multi-hit outing in four games after managing just five in 59 starts a year ago.
The sort of stuff, manager Matt Quatraro said, that you hope is building his confidence “exponentially.”
Maikel Garcia knocked in three runs, and Vinnie Pasquantino got untracked with a double for his first extra-base hit of the season. And the bottom of the order once more sparked the way in what became a 13-9 victory over Minnesota on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.
So there was plenty to like about the Royals’ third straight victory after an 0-2 start … even after the bullpen melted down an 11-run lead to four in the final innings.
But there was something else memorable and perhaps telling about this interminable game, which clocked in at 3 hours 36 minutes — the longest nine-inning Royals game of the pitch-clock era that began in 2023.
A general view as fog rolls in during the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on April 1, 2026 in Kansas City. Jamie Squire Getty Images
Because this win was a soggy slog in disorienting conditions, including steady-to-hard rain, only a few thousand people in their seats most of the game and near-constant work by the grounds crew to keep it going with no delay.
In some ways, Caglianone said, it felt like one of those games with no fans in the stands during the height of the pandemic. Quite a contrast to recently playing in World Baseball Classic games in which he recalled not being able to hear himself say “wow” out loud.
The conditions were “kind of just survival,” as Cameron playfully put it.
“Pretty crazy,” center fielder Kyle Isbel called it.
“It was kind of a whirlwind of everything, really. We got fog, rain. It was windy. Probably the worst elements I’ve played in,” said Isbel, who hit his second home run of the season — and the Royals’ first to get clearance from the shortened fences this season.
So when Caglianone’s foot slipped on a swing and “just kept going,” he said, laughing, he reckoned the new bags of dirt the grounds crew brought out couldn’t make any difference. And never mind that when he smoked one to deep center in the second inning that he couldn’t see it.
“I lost it. I’m not going to lie,” he said.
Center fielder Byron Buxton #25 of the Minnesota Twins fields a double off the wall during the 1st inning of the game against the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium on April 1, 2026 in Kansas City. Jamie Squire Getty Images
At least judging by center fielder Byron Buxton’s serpentine route to the ball, he couldn’t either.
And that became the first of four straight two-out hits that got the Royals rolling to a 3-0 lead in a game they blew open with a seven-run sixth inning.
Uncomfortable all night.
And unfazed, too.
Like anything else this early in the season, it’s too early to tell whether this was a fleeting or random turn or an actually meaningful and abiding development.
But it’s certainly a fine early sign in the course of a marathon season that will feature any number of extreme conditions and other oddities.
“It’s the big leagues,” Quatraro said. “You’re going to play in that weather.”
In this case, Quatraro was proud of the focus and appreciated how “they were grinding.”
“The quality of the at-bats, the intensity in the dugout, the attention to detail was really good,” he said, also noting quality baserunning. “There were numerous things like that that stood out. …
“The effort, the intensity and sticking with it: They’re not all going to be pretty wins.”
First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino #9 and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. #7 of the Kansas City Royals watch from the dugout in the rain during the 5th inning against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium on April 1, 2026 in Kansas City. Jamie Squire Getty Images
To get back to the postseason after failing to return last season, the Royals are going to need wins from about every source and category.
This one came by way of a number of auspicious paths, including one that’s harder to quantify but also needs to be sustained and at least for the moment said something about this group.
“For sure …” Isbel said. “It just shows grit (and) another element to the guys in the clubhouse.”
In their element, it seems, in the elements.
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Vahe Gregorian has been a sports columnist for The Kansas City Star since 2013 after 25 years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He has covered a wide spectrum of sports, including 10 Olympics. Vahe was an English major at the University of Pennsylvania and earned his master’s degree at Mizzou.