Game on the line: 'It’s easy to call it when it’s Bobby'

OAKLAND -- Knowing the score, the situation and the big moment Bobby Witt Jr. found himself in Thursday afternoon, relievers in the Royals bullpen did what anybody watching baseball this year might do.

They called the shot.

Eight pitches later, Witt launched a go-ahead, game-winning home run in the top of the eighth inning of the Royals’ 3-2 win over the A’s at the Oakland Coliseum.

“I mean, it’s easy to call it when it’s Bobby,” reliever Chris Stratton said.

After Witt’s homer gave Kansas City the lead back, Stratton picked up the save. He got the final two outs with runners on first and third in the ninth inning, and the Royals salvaged a disappointing series that saw them lose the first two games before avoiding the sweep.

The series finale -- the Royals’ final game at the Coliseum with the A’s temporarily moving to Sacramento, Calif., for the 2025-27 seasons – showed Kansas City’s relentlessness again, both bouncing back from the previous two losses to the 28-49 A’s and a tough seventh inning.

Royals starter Seth Lugo was cruising through six innings on 95 pitches and got the first two outs of the seventh before allowing a double to Lawrence Butler. Then Zack Gelof crushed a slider on the outside part of the zone, sending it 422 feet to center field.

“I was walking off the field,” Lugo said. “I thought he popped out. ...Giving up the two-run homer, that hurt. But glad we got the win. We needed the win.”

The Royals did need the win, having entered Thursday with eight losses in their last 10 games. After Wednesday’s loss, they dropped to third place in the American League Central, but Thursday’s win brought them back to second, six games behind the first-place Guardians.

There’s been some frustration the past few days, especially offensively. The Royals got out to an early lead thanks to Freddy Fermin's two home runs -- his second multi-homer game of his career -- but the rest of the offense was quiet.

The top four hitters in the Royals’ lineup were a combined 0-for-13 before Witt stepped to the plate in the eighth.

So his 12th homer of the year was a big one -- and maybe a little cathartic, too.

“I know he was frustrated with himself these last couple of days, and I think he took some aggression out on that one,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “Kind of hurt our hands coming back through the dugout. But really happy for him. It’s a huge spot for the team, which is what he cares about.”

“More so just trying to make something happen,” Witt added. “It’s frustrating losing. So I knew we needed to do something to get a win.”

The Royals still had to navigate through two innings of traffic before celebrating the win. James McArthur, had gotten out of the seventh inning when a relay from right fielder Dairon Blanco to second baseman Adam Frazier to catcher Salvador Perez got Kyle McCann, trying to score from first base, out at the plate.

Quatraro had brought McArthur in, knowing he could handle the eighth inning and the top of the A's order. McArthur walked two batters, but a key pickoff play and grounders got the Royals out of the inning, with Angel Zerpa recording the final out.

He went back out for the bottom of the ninth, and the A’s threatened again. Witt’s error allowed the leadoff runner to get on, and Quatraro turned to Stratton after a single from pinch-hitter Shea Langeliers. Two fly balls got the job done.

“They had to make some big pitches,” Lugo said. “They all stayed locked in and got the outs when we needed them. From a pitching standpoint that’s what it’s going to take all season, staying locked in.”

The Royals haven’t been playing their best baseball but are still eight games above .500. They are now heading to Texas for three games to finish their nine-game, three-city road trip.

After Thursday, which several players called a “team win,” momentum has returned.

“Right now, it seems like we have to play perfect baseball, it seems like, which is just how it goes,” Stratton said. “Every season, you have a bad stretch. But you learn a lot from failure, and I think it’s going to benefit us down the road. Today, we kind of had a bend-don’t-break mentality, especially there at the end. Everybody that came in picked up the person in front of them.”