Royals return favor and walk off Tigers, 4-3

Apr 25, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals center fielder Kyle Isbel (28) hits a single during the seventh inning against the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images | Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images Royals broadcast Ryan LeFebvre has a handful of topics he likes to bring up as often as he can. Leadoff walks late in the game, pitchers catching popups, whether a catcher has an advantage when facing a pitcher he’s caught before.

But one of the things he brings up a lot that I actually kind of appreciate is the idea of a “circle your scorecard” moment. This comes from Ryan’s own practice of circling what he believes are key plate appearances in a game where the outcome helps define the winner of the game. You can go ahead and put a big old circle around May 8 on your 2026 calendars.

If the Royals play into October this year, this game will be a big part of the reason why. That’s enough of me pontificating; let’s talk about how the game went. Kris Bubic was fighting his control for most of this game.

Ultimately, he only gave up 3 runs in 5. 2 innings, which is the next best thing to a quality start. But he walked 4 and only struck out 5.