Game thread LI – Mariners at Royals

Apr 30, 2026; West Sacramento, California, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Noah Cameron (65) throws a pitch against the Athletics during the first inning at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images | Ed Szczepanski-Imagn Images As Seattle rolls into town, they’re having a really rough time. Even so, I think most Royals fans would trade places with them in a heartbeat.

After coming so tantalizingly close to their first World Series appearance as a franchise last fall, the Mariners had a lot of expectations for this season. They even made the big offensive addition most Royals fans wished KC would make by getting Brendan Donovan from the Cardinals. Still, they sit 24-27, third in their division, and one game out of the last Wild Card spot.

The Royals, after hanging in tough following a couple of bad losing streaks, have seen that second losing period just keep extending, and while they were only 2. 5 games out of a Wild Card spot on Sunday, they’re now firmly 9 games off the division-leading Guardians and 4. 5 games from the final Wild Card spot.

Realistically, they’re not out of the playoff hunt as they stretch toward the end of May, but they’ve done very little to show us that they’re capable of playing well enough to escape these doldrums. It leaves us as Royals fans reminiscing about the early days when they were just not quite able to finish series off and were a game or two under . 500.