So there was plenty to like about the Royals\u2019 third straight victory after an 0-2 start \u2026 even after the bullpen melted down an 11-run lead to four in the final innings.<\/p>\n
But there was something else memorable and perhaps telling about this interminable game, which clocked in at 3 hours 36 minutes \u2014 the longest nine-inning Royals game of the pitch-clock era that began in 2023.<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2269449674.jpg\" "\\"GettyImages-2269449674.jpg\\"")
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 <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cwow\u201d out loud.<\/p>\n
The conditions were \u201ckind of just survival,\u201d as Cameron playfully put it.<\/p>\n
\u201cPretty crazy,\u201d center fielder Kyle Isbel called it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was kind of a whirlwind of everything, really. We got fog, rain. It was windy. Probably the worst elements I\u2019ve played in,\u201d said Isbel, who hit his second home run of the season \u2014 and the Royals\u2019 first to get clearance from the shortened fences this season.<\/a><\/p>\n So when Caglianone\u2019s foot slipped on a swing and \u201cjust kept going,\u201d he said, laughing, he reckoned the new bags of dirt the grounds crew brought out couldn\u2019t make any difference. And never mind that when he smoked one to deep center in the second inning that he couldn\u2019t see it.<\/p>\n \u201cI lost it. I\u2019m not going to lie,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n At least judging by center fielder Byron Buxton\u2019s serpentine route to the ball, he couldn\u2019t either.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Uncomfortable all night.<\/p>\n And unfazed, too.<\/p>\n Like anything else this early in the season, it\u2019s too early to tell whether this was a fleeting or random turn or an actually meaningful and abiding development.<\/p>\n But it\u2019s certainly a fine early sign in the course of a marathon season that will feature any number of extreme conditions and other oddities.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the big leagues,\u201d Quatraro said. \u201cYou\u2019re going to play in that weather.\u201d<\/p>\n In this case, Quatraro was proud of the focus and appreciated how \u201cthey were grinding.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe quality of the at-bats, the intensity in the dugout, the attention to detail was really good,\u201d he said, also noting quality baserunning. \u201cThere were numerous things like that that stood out. \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cThe effort, the intensity and sticking with it: They\u2019re not all going to be pretty wins.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n This one came by way of a number of auspicious paths, including one that\u2019s harder to quantify but also needs to be sustained and at least for the moment said something about this group.<\/p>\n \u201cFor sure \u2026\u201d Isbel said. \u201cIt just shows grit (and) another element to the guys in the clubhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n In their element, it seems, in the elements.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Kansas City Star<\/p>\n![\"Center](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2269449875.jpg\" "\\"GettyImages-2269449875.jpg\\"")
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 <\/p>\n![\"First](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-2269453587.jpg\" "\\"GettyImages-2269453587.jpg\\"")
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 <\/p>\n