Fastball

Kansas City Royals' Bobby Witt Jr. and Nick Loftin Go Viral For Insane Play on Thursday vs. Astros

The Kansas City Royals pummeled the Houston Astros on Thursday afternoon, 13-3, putting up nine runs in the first inning alone. While the offensive explosion was the real story, don't forget the viral highlight clip of infielders Bobby Witt Jr. and Nick Loftin.
Brady Farkas|
Apr 11, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals second base Nick Loftin (12) dives over
Apr 11, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals second base Nick Loftin (12) dives over | Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

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Kansas City Royals

The Kansas City Royals throttled the Houston Astros on Thursday afternoon, 13-3. The real stories of the game were the individual history made by Bobby Witt Jr. and the team history made by the Royals offense, but don't forget the viral clip going around involving Witt Jr. and second baseman Nick Loftin.

You can see the play below, in which both players go for the same ground ball and Loftin ends up needing to hurdle over Witt Jr. to get out of his way.

Per @Cut4 on social media:

"Nick Loftin hit the hurdle button"

The play was made and the clip is funny, but the Royals are lucky that Witt Jr. wasn't seriously injured on the play. If Loftin hadn't been able to clear him - or had his spike hit his head or face - there could have been real worry. However, all is well that ends well and the Royals have now won seven straight games.

KC is out to a 9-4 start this season and is seeking to be much more competitive than 2023, when they had the second-worst record in all of baseball. The team spent more than $100 million this offseason in free ageny on Seth Lugo, Michael Wacha, Hunter Renfroe, Will Smith, Chris Stratton, Adam Frazier and an extension for Witt Jr.

The Royals will take on the New York Mets for a series at Citi Field on Friday night. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET as Wacha (1-0, 2.25 ERA) pitches against Luis Severino (0-1, 3.60 ERA).

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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