Kansas City Royals vs Texas Rangers, Exhibition Game Thread
The first of two exhibition games on the way from Arizona to Georgia for Opening Day on Friday.
SURPRISE, AZ - FEBRUARY 19: Michael Wacha #52 of the Kansas City Royals poses for a photo during the Kansas City Royals photo day at Surprise Stadium on Thursday, February 19, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Caitlin O'Hara/MLB Photos via Getty Images) | MLB Photos via Getty Images Cactus League play has wrapped up, so the Royals begin their seemingly-annual exhibition trip to Dallas to play the Rangers at Globe Life in advance of Opening Day. It’s not spring training, it’s not the regular season, it’s…baseball purgatory I guess.
I’ve heard you don’t want to be flying around Atlanta right now anyway. Huge lines. For this exhibition game, the Royals will start Michael Wacha.
We all know this guy and what he’s done. The Rangers will start Mackenzie Gore, who is still somehow just 27 years old. I feel like he’s been talked about forever.
He is on his third MLB team in his fifth season, and it’s the first with the Rangers, who gave up a ton of prospects to get him. Gore’s a good pitcher but has generally been worse than Michael Wacha the past few years. He’s just younger.