How Royals came up short in Thursday’s series-finale loss to the New York Mets
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Michael Wacha allowed six runs and was charged with the loss after 4⅔ innings pitched.
- The Mets scored five runs in the fifth inning, chasing Wacha.
- New York won the series as the Royals fell 7-3 and lost the last two games.
Pitcher Michael Wacha is lauded for his consistency on the mound. If nothing else, he typically provides the Kansas City Royals with a quality start.
The 35-year-old right-hander has done it 12 times this season — tops in the American League.
Wacha isn’t immune to having a bad start, however. On Thursday, he was knocked around by one of his former teams as the Royals fell 7-3 to the New York Mets at Citi Field.
“It wasn’t his best, obviously,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “A little bit off with his command. You’ve got to give them (the Mets) credit. I thought all three of these days they really battled some tough at-bats, fouled a lot of pitches off.
“They were tough to put away and drove the pitch count up.”
The Royals (38-56) gave Wacha some early run support. In the first inning, Lane Thomas was ready for a first-pitch heater and belted a leadoff home run. It was his seventh homer of the season and gave the Royals a 1-0 lead.
Wacha navigated the Mets’ lineup with precision early. He worked a scoreless first before allowing an RBI double to first baseman Jacob Young.
The Royals retook the lead right away — Bobby Witt Jr. hit a solo homer in the fourth and is now batting .333 (7-for-21) during a five-game hitting streak.
“You’ve got to work in this game and got to get better each and every day,” Witt said. “Every day is a new day and new opportunity.”
With the lead in hand, the Royals needed a shutdown inning from Wacha. Instead, the Mets scored five times in the fifth.
“I’ve just got to do a better job right there,” Wacha said. “Got to limit the damage and limit those big innings to be able to give our guys a chance to win.”
Outfielder Tyrone Taylor began the inning with a solo homer, sending an 89.3 MPH cutter over the left-center wall. And then the Mets just sprayed singles around the outfield.
Brett Baty and A.J. Ewing singled in succession. Mets star Juan Soto walked to load the bases; Bo Bichette followed with a sacrifice fly and Carson Benge hit an RBI single.
The Mets got another run on Thomas’ throwing error. In total, the host team recorded five hits in chasing Wacha from the game.
Wacha was charged with six runs. He suffered his seventh loss and lasting just 4 2/3 innings.
“I felt like I had some good command there early on, good mix going on there for sure,” Wacha said. “But yeah, a lot of long ABs there. You know, fouling off pitches and ended up losing them with some walks. Just the pitch count getting up there with some long stressful innings ... kind of added up there.”
The Royals scored a run in the seventh when Jac Caglianone doubled home Nick Loftin from second base. But the Mets got that run right back as Soto blasted his 21st homer off right-handed reliever Beck Way.
New York improved to 40-54 and won the series. The Royals dropped the last two games.
The Royals didn’t have many chances with runners in scoring position. This was due in part to Mets starter Sean Manaea posting a quality start of his own.
“It’s always tough,” Witt said. “You always want to put runs on the board when he’s on the mound just because of how well Wacha has been pitching. So yeah, it’s frustrating. It’s always frustrating losing series.”
Manaea — a former Royals 2013 MLB Draft selection taken No. 34 overall that year — allowed three runs across seven innings. He picked up his second win while striking out six and walking one.
“He’s got good stuff,” Quatraro said. “His velo is down a little bit from what it was a couple years ago. But the arm angle, the crossfire delivery, it’s big movement on the sinker. The cutter is an improved pitch. And the sweeper and sinker play off each other and make it a really tough combo.
“He did a great job elevating some fastballs when he needed to, as well.”
The Royals now head to Baltimore for their final series before the All-Star break.
What’s next: Royals right-hander Luinder Avila (4-3, 5.05 ERA) will start Friday night opposite Orioles right-hander Brandon Young (7-2, 3.38 ERA). First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. Central Time at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
This story was originally published July 9, 2026 at 2:44 PM with the headline "How Royals came up short in Thursday’s series-finale loss to the New York Mets."
