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👑 Thursday, October 09 • Game 2👑

The Royals' postseason ends quietly in a 3–1 Wild Card sweep.

Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians | Progressive Field
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 44 degrees | Wind: Out to left at 12 mph | Attendance: 36,120 | First pitch: 8:05 PM ET
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Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

We played a strong enough game in the opener to prove we belonged in the series, but we did not play a complete enough game to win it.

Luinder Avila gave us strikeouts but not length. The offense erased a three-run deficit and briefly pushed us ahead. Then James McArthur gave the lead back before the dugout had time to settle. We carried the tying run to third in both the eighth and ninth innings and came away with an 8–7 loss.That made tonight simple. Win, and Spencer Turnbull gets the ball in a deciding Game 3. Lose, and the 2025 season ends in Cleveland.

Jordan Montgomery was fully rested and exactly the starter I wanted in that situation. He had been our most dependable veteran through the closing weeks and had carried us through the Wild Card-clinching game in Atlanta. If anyone could quiet Progressive Field long enough for the lineup to find its footing, it was Monty.

I changed the batting order by moving Christian Arroyo into the designated hitter spot over Davis Schneider. Arroyo had earned the opportunity through his September work and gave us another right-handed bat against Tekoah Roby. The larger lineup remained intact: Vinnie Pasquantino at first, Michael Massey at second, Bobby Witt Jr. at short, and Salvy behind the plate.

There was no reason to overcomplicate the message. Take the free base. Move the runner. Make Roby work. Do not let Cleveland shorten the game before we create pressure. This was the last chance to turn the season into something more.

Cleveland Guardians Wildcard Series Snapshot

Cleveland entered Game 2 with complete control of the series.
The Guardians had already demonstrated why the regular-season matchup leaned so heavily in their favor. In Game 1, they absorbed our largest offensive rally, answered immediately, and handed the final six outs to Herrin and Cade Smith. They did not need to dominate every inning. They only needed to win the leverage moments.

Their lineup remained built around contact and pressure. Steven Kwan reached base and forced the defense to move. José Ramírez carried the middle. Bo Naylor supplied left-handed impact. Angel Martínez, Andrés Giménez, and Chase DeLauter kept innings alive.

The Game 2 pitching assignment made the challenge even sharper. Roby had already controlled us during the regular season, and his ability to change speeds gave him a useful profile against a lineup that had become vulnerable when forced to hit behind in the count.

The series path was now direct:

Royals win: Game 3 on October 10.

Guardians win: Cleveland advances to face Tampa Bay.

There was no tomorrow hidden behind the schedule.
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Series Matchup Board — Game 2

• LHP Jordan Montgomery vs. RHP Tekoah Roby

Montgomery worked six innings, allowing eight hits, three earned runs, one walk, and striking out two on 85 pitches. His outing was strong enough to keep the game within reach after Cleveland's three-run third. He allowed only one baserunner to score outside that inning and retired ten of the final twelve hitters he faced.

Roby was the game.

He completed seven innings on 83 pitches, allowing only two hits and one run. He walked two and struck out five. Kansas City did not record an extra-base hit, and the only run came in the sixth without a hit: Garcia walked, stole second, advanced on Pasquantino's groundout, and scored on Massey's sacrifice fly. Cade Smith retired all six hitters he faced across the final two innings, striking out three and hitting Schneider with a pitch. Cleveland's pitching ladder functioned exactly as designed.


Game Day Log — Royals vs. Guardians (Game 2)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st Inning
Roby retired Garcia, Pasquantino, and Massey in order. Vinnie struck out, and the top of the order produced no early traffic.

Montgomery answered with a clean frame. Kwan flew out, Martínez grounded out, and Ramírez grounded to first. Scoreless after one.

2nd Inning
Bobby flew out, Arroyo grounded out, and Payton worked a full-count walk. Salvy struck out, leaving the first baserunner at first.

Giménez singled in Cleveland's half, but Montgomery got Rocchio to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. The game remained scoreless.

3rd Inning
Meadows struck out, Isbel singled, and stole second. Garcia flew out, and Pasquantino followed with another fly ball. We placed the first runner in scoring position and left him there.

Cleveland then scored all the runs it would need. Bo Naylor led off by driving a solo home run 394 feet. Montgomery struck out Siri, but DeLauter doubled. Kwan followed with another double, scoring DeLauter. Martínez walked, and Montgomery's wild pitch moved both runners. Ramírez grounded out, bringing Kwan home. Three runs had crossed on three extra-base hits, one walk, and a wild pitch. Guardians led 3–0.

4th Inning
Massey singled to open the inning, but Bobby forced him at second. Arroyo moved Bobby to second with a groundout. Bobby stole third during Payton's at-bat, putting a runner 90 feet away. Payton struck out. Another runner reached third. Another inning ended without a run.

Montgomery retired Giménez, Rocchio, and Naylor in order, giving us the shutdown inning needed after the three-run damage.

5th Inning
Salvy lined out hard to left. Meadows struck out, and Isbel flew out. Roby had retired nine of ten since Massey's single.

Montgomery responded with another zero. Siri and DeLauter grounded out, and although Kwan doubled with two outs, Martínez grounded out to strand him.

6th Inning
Garcia walked to open the inning and stole second. Pasquantino moved him to third on a groundout. Massey lifted a sacrifice fly to center, and Garcia scored. The run came without a hit, but it brought us within two. Bobby then lined out to center. Royals trailed 3–1.

Montgomery worked around a one-out single by Ramírez, retiring Saggese, Giménez, and Rocchio. Six innings complete, and the deficit remained manageable.

7th Inning
Roby retired Arroyo, Payton, and Salvy in order. The bottom half of the lineup could not create any pressure before Cleveland reached its bullpen.

Naylor singled, and Siri doubled to begin Cleveland's half. With runners at second and third and nobody out, I went to Bernardino.

Bernardino struck out DeLauter. Kwan then hit a hard grounder that Bobby mishandled, loading the bases with one out. The inning could have ended the season right there. Instead, Bernardino forced Martínez into a fielder's choice at home and got Ramírez to pop out. Cleveland left three runners aboard, and the score stayed 3–1. The defense created the danger. Bernardino rescued it.

8th Inning
Cade Smith entered. Lane Thomas pinch-hit for Meadows and popped out. Drew Waters pinch-hit for Isbel and struck out. Garcia grounded out. Three batters. Three outs.

Bernardino allowed a leadoff single to Saggese in the bottom half but retired Giménez, Rocchio, and Naylor. Two scoreless innings from the bullpen gave the offense one final chance.

9th Inning
Pasquantino grounded out to second. Schneider pinch-hit for Massey and was hit by a pitch, placing one runner aboard and giving the dugout a final pulse. Bobby struck out swinging. Arroyo came to the plate as the last hitter of the season for another chance. He worked the count even, fouled off a pitch, and then struck out swinging.

The final pitch settled into Naylor's glove. Cleveland 3, Kansas City 1. The Guardians advanced.

Our season ended where so many of its hardest games had been played—in Cleveland, against the club we never fully solved.
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Final

Royals 1, Guardians 3
Royals (2 H, 1 E) | Braves (9 H, 0 E)

Player of the Game: Tekoah Roby

Notable Royals: Kansas City managed only two hits: one each from Massey and Isbel. Garcia reached on a walk, stole second, and scored the club's only run on Massey's sacrifice fly.

Notable Guardians: Cleveland's entire scoring output came in the third. Naylor homered, DeLauter and Kwan doubled, and Ramírez drove in the third run with a groundout. The offense never provided another opening.



Montgomery gave the Royals six competitive innings. Bernardino followed with two scoreless frames and escaped a bases-loaded threat in the seventh.

Winning Pitcher: Tekoah Roby, 1–0
Losing Pitcher: Jordan Montgomery, 0–1
Save: Cade Smith, 2

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher             Dec           IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI    ERA
J. Montgomery     L (0-1)        6.0    8    3    3    1    2    1    85   4.50
B. Bernardino                    2.0    1    0    0    0    2    0    27   0.00

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Front Office Note / Takeaways

The season is over. Cleveland completed the sweep and advanced to the Division Series against Tampa Bay. We never forced a third game. Our offense never applied sustained pressure. We put runners in scoring position in the third, fourth, and sixth, but managed only one run and no extra-base hits. The bullpen was not the reason for tonight's loss. Bernardino gave us two scoreless innings. The decisive issue was an offense held to two singles and one manufactured run.



Cleveland confirmed the regular-season lesson. They beat us 10 times in 13 games before October and twice more in the postseason. Their pitching depth, contact quality, and execution under pressure remained the difference.

• Montgomery gave us a chance. Three runs over six innings in an elimination game is a workable line. The third inning hurt, but he recovered and kept the game within one swing.

• Garcia created the only run through speed. A walk, stolen base, productive groundout, and sacrifice fly. It was the kind of clean sequence we needed more often.

• The fourth inning was the best missed chance. Massey singled, Bobby reached, Arroyo moved him over, and Bobby stole third. Payton struck out with the runner 90 feet away.

• Bernardino closed his season with two strong innings. One hit, no runs, two strikeouts, and a bases-loaded escape. He gave the offense enough time to respond.

• Salvy finished the Wild Card Series without a hit. His leadership and season value remain unquestioned, but the middle of the order needed production that never arrived.

• Bobby's return allowed him to compete, but not dominate. He stole two bases in the series and handled shortstop, yet finished 1-for-8. The groin recovery and late-season timing never allowed him to become the force we needed.

• Pasquantino's return was worth the roster risk. He hit safely twice in Game 1 and played both games without an apparent setback. The offense simply could not build enough around him.



Final Season Takeaway

The 2025 Royals finished 85–77, secured a Wild Card berth, and returned Kansas City to postseason baseball. That is meaningful progress, especially after a season that demanded constant roster adjustment, rotation improvisation, and difficult choices between the manager's need to win today and the general manager's responsibility to protect tomorrow. The season also exposed the next layer of work.

The bullpen lacked enough trustworthy leverage arms. The baserunning cost us too many outs. The lineup became vulnerable when Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino were unavailable. September revealed how quickly a strong season can lose its shape when injuries, fatigue, and poor execution converge.

There were building blocks worth carrying forward: Massey's power breakout, Montgomery's veteran reliability, Avila's emergence, Arroyo's late-season push, Isbel's two-way value, and the lower-level coaching changes designed to improve the pipeline. There were also hard evaluations still waiting on Turnbull, Hunter Brown, Brazoban, several bullpen arms, and the overall bench construction.

We reached October. We did not survive it.

The season deserves pride but not comfort. The standard for 2026 cannot be merely returning to the Wild Card round. It must be building a club deeper, cleaner, and more durable than this one—strong enough not only to reach October but to stay there.



Around the League



Boston completed a two-game Wild Card sweep of Texas with a 5–1 victory at Globe Life Field. Wilyer Abreu earned series MVP honors after batting .556, and the Red Sox advanced to face Detroit in the Division Series.

Atlanta defeated Cincinnati 8–0 in the deciding third game of their Wild Card matchup. Michael Harris II was named series MVP after batting .533 with four RBIs and six runs. The Braves will face Arizona.

San Diego survived a three-game series against San Francisco, winning the finale 6–5. Fernando Tatis Jr. earned MVP honors after batting .500 with a .533 on-base percentage. The Padres now move on to face St. Louis.

Cleveland's Bo Naylor was named MVP of our series after batting .444 with a home run, two RBIs, and two runs scored. The Guardians advance to meet Tampa Bay.

The postseason continues without us. The work on 2026 begins now.
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👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑
Kansas City Royals | Wildcard Series 2025 - Game 2



(OOTP25 Royals Journey — GM/Manager's Dual Log)