Early in the 2026 season, the Kansas City Royals bullpen has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. <\/p>\n
Whether it be meltdown performances or the issues plaguing veterans Bailey Falter<\/a> and Carlos Est\u00e9vez, the relief corps quickly went from a solid group to one that could conceivably cost this team plenty of games down the stretch. <\/p>\n Seasoned baseball fans know there are no sure things each time that bullpen door opens, and that applies in Kansas City as much as anywhere else. The unit\u2019s depth will assuredly be tested and reshuffled throughout the season, and Eli Morgan made a resounding case for himself in that picture with his Saturday night performance.<\/p>\n Eli Morgan’s Saturday night performance was just what the Royals needed<\/p>\n The Royals had a run-scoring outburst in the primetime Saturday night game<\/a> to split a doubleheader against the visiting Milwaukee Brewers. Veteran starter Seth Lugo turned in a solid five innings against the reigning NL Central champions, striking out seven while allowing two runs. <\/p>\n Newcomer Nick Mears followed that with a hitless, walkless, strikeout-less sixth inning, keeping his ERA at a cool 0.00 on the season. But it was the 27th man to take the ball for the first time in Kansas City powder blue who likely had the greatest impact on the Royals.<\/p>\n Morgan took the ball to start the seventh inning and did not look back, tossing three innings of scoreless baseball to earn his second career MLB save and his first in more than three calendar years. <\/p>\n It was also the first save of at least 3.0 innings by a Royal since left-hander Daniel Lynch IV did it against the Cleveland Guardians on Aug. 26, 2024, also in a doubleheader. This was just the 15th such save in Royals franchise history<\/a> and only the second three-inning save in MLB during the 2026 season.<\/p>\n