Royals lose in walk-off fashion, 6-2

SURPRISE, ARIZONA - FEBRUARY 19: Carlos Estévez #53 of the Kansas City Royals poses for a portrait during photo day at Surprise Stadium on February 19, 2026 in Surprise, Arizona. (Photo by Jeremy Chen/Getty Images) | Getty Images Before I talk about the actual game, give me a moment to jump on my soap box. In the second inning of the contest, the Fox broadcast booth – featuring Adam Amin, Adam Wainwright, and A.

J. Pierzynski in one of the most fun and informative national broadcast booths you’re likely to see – was doing an in-game interview with Atlanta pitcher Chris Sale. During the interview there was a blown call at second base, Maikel Garcia fielded a ground ball attempted to step on second and throw to first for the double play.

Ordinarily, we could just be talking about how bizarre a shift the Royals were running to allow for that to happen but Garcia didn’t actually step on second before he threw to first. The runner, Ronald Acuña Jr. , should have been safe.

The booth saw the replay and immediately started telling Chris Sale that Atlanta should challenge the play. Ultimately, Atlanta was not allowed to challenge – probably because they took too long, but it was never made clear by the umpire – and no harm was done. To be clear, I don’t think the broadcast booth was attempting to help Atlanta cheat.