Kansas City Royals have surpassed 2023’s win total ... in July: ‘The book is closed’

The Kansas City Royals have officially eclipsed their 2023 win total. On Friday, the Royals defeated the Chicago Cubs 6-0 to earn their 57th victory.

Last season, the Royals produced a tied-for-franchise-worst 56-106 record. KC didn’t win its final game until the season finale against the New York Yankees.

Fans didn’t have to wait as long this year. The Royals took care of business in their 104th game to close the book on last season.

“The book is closed,” Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “We have 57 wins and 2023 is no longer a thing in this clubhouse. We are on to 2024. We are here and we are 57 wins into it. And we are excited to get some more.”

And the Royals accomplished it with tenured starter Brady Singer on the mound.

Singer, who was a part of the 2023 squad, tossed seven shutout innings against the Cubs. He allowed two hits, two walks and struck out five batters.

The Cubs were shut down early. Singer had full command of his five-pitch arsenal as he retired the first 11 batters to greet him. He also registered 45 swings and seven whiffs, per Baseball Savant.

“I feel good and I think the pitches are in the right spot,” Singer said. “You know, I’ve used that sweeper a lot more since the All-Star Break, and I think that’s helped me out a lot.”

The Royals took a while to find their offensive groove. Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks cruised through four innings. However, he ran into major trouble in the fifth.

KC scored six runs in the fifth inning … all with two outs. Royals outfielder Garrett Hampson started the rally with a single. The Royals produced five consecutive singles to take their first lead.

Royals trio Adam Frazier, Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez each recorded RBIs in the frame. Perez had the major blow with a three-run homer into the left-field seats.

“I was just trying to fight, really,” Frazier said. “You know, he was making some good pitches those first five or six innings. We were doing anything we could to scrape a run across. I feel like we put some good at-bats together and he made some good pitches. You know, Sal made the big blow, which was huge.”

Singer and the Royals bullpen maintained the lead. The Cubs mustered just four hits as Singer picked up his seventh victory of the season.

The Royals improved to 57-47. They also picked up their fifth victory on their nine-game homestand.

Chicago dropped to 49-56.

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Here are more notables from Friday’s game:

Royals escape fifth-inning trouble

Singer was cruising until he ran into some fifth-inning traffic.

He began the frame by plunking Cubs designated hitter Mike Tauchman with an 84.1 mph slider that ran too far inside. Later, Chicago star Dansby Swanson singled to put both runners in scoring position.

Singer was in a precarious position. He needed to protect a scoreless game while navigating the bottom of the lineup.

And that’s exactly what he did.

Singer retired Cubs third baseman Miles Mastrobuoni on a groundout. Moments later, he received some defensive help as Royals outfielder Kyle Isbel spearheaded a double play, throwing out Tauchman at home plate.

“Heck of a play by Izzy” Singer said. “It definitely saved the game there.”

The Cubs were turned away in the fifth inning. In the bottom half, KC scored six runs to take a commanding lead.

Large crowd at The K

It was a packed house at Kauffman Stadium on Friday night. Fans from across the Midwest traveled to catch the Cubs in town.

The Royals announced a large crowd of 36,351 fans. It’s the largest attendance since Opening Day (38,775).

“We feed off that energy,” Frazier said. “And, you know, I’d like the crowd like that every night.”

The fans made their presence felt. There was a deafening cheer as Perez drilled his three-run homer to cap the Royals’ six-run fifth inning.

“We heard what this weekend could be crowd-wise, and that’s really exciting for us,” Pasquantino said. “The fans in Kansas City are so great because if we start rolling, they start rolling in the gates. They understand baseball and that is a really cool thing.”

What’s next on the KC Royals schedule?

The Royals continue their three-game series against the Cubs. On Saturday, KC right-hander Seth Lugo will start in the prime-time matchup at 6:10 p.m. Central.

Lugo recorded his first career complete game against the Chicago White Sox in his last start at Kauffman Stadium. This season, Lugo ranks among the MLB leaders in multiple categories including wins (12, T-2nd), quality starts (16, 3rd) and earned run average (2.38, 3rd).

The Cubs will start rookie sensation Shota Imanaga. The talented southpaw is 8-2 with a 2.86 ERA this season.