Live Updates, May 18, 2024: Kansas City Royals vs Oakland Athletics (Game Two)

After the Royals took the first game in the series, they found themselves just a game and a half back of the Cleveland Guardians for the lead of the AL Central. Kansas City will look to put another dent in that lead in their second contest against the Athletics in the series. The Royals will be turning to their ace Seth Lugo who has been phenomenal on the rubber for Kansas City so far this season. Lugo will be attempting to pick up his seventh win of the season, which would put him solely in second for all MLB pitchers. Lugo also boasts the second most innings pitched in the American League while still being fourth in the entire MLB for ERA.

Consistent hitting has evaded the Royals this season, instead, Kansas City usually opts to pour on a load of runs in a single inning. Last night that trend would continue as the Royals scored five of their six runs in a single inning. The Royals will have a chance to break that trend tonight against a struggling Ross Stripling who currently holds an ERA of 4.98, the 12th worst in the entire league for starting pitchers. Stripling also has the most losses in the MLB this season with seven, a stat the Royals will be looking to extend.

How It Happened:

8:30 p.m. - McArthur responds and puts way the next three batters to seal the game for the Royals. A flyout advanced the lead runner but two strikeouts after that made sure another run wouldn't cross the plate. McArthur picked up his 11th save of the season as the Royals improve to 28-19 on the year with the series victory. 5-3 Royals

8:24 p.m. - McArthur puts himself in some trouble early, allowing back-to-back base hits with no outs The go-ahead run comes to the plate for the A's in the top of the ninth inning with runners on first and second. 5-3 Royals

8:20 p.m. - The lights start flashing and the music comes on as the finisher entrance for James McArthur sets the crowd off. He will have a two-run cushion in this one to get the save and grant Lugo the win. 5-3 Royals

8:11 p.m. - Make that 9 straight outings without an allowed run for Angel Zerpa as he comes in and puts the A's away in order without issue. The Royals are three more outs away from picking up a series victory and Seth Lugo becoming second in wins for all pitchers this season. 5-3 Royals

8:01 p.m. - Kyle Isbel must have been extra unhappy with the Royals run being cut into, because he took the first pitch that he saw from reliever Lucas Erceg 412' to center field. 5-3 Royals

7:54 p.m. - John Schreiber picked up two outs before allowing three consecutive singles, allowing the A's to close the gap. Brent Rooker took a ball to left field that allowed Abraham Toro to come around third and score from second. Langeliers would ground out to close the inning, keeping the Royals in front. 4-3 Royals

7:43 p.m. - Here comes the Royals offense, immediately picking up two hits to drive in a run before the A's could record an out. Massey hit a double and Velazquez finished the job with a single. Stripling is done for the evening, allowing four runs in five innings pitched, putting his season ERA over the 5.0 mark. 4-2 Royals

7:34 p.m. - Lugo's day is finished after 5.2 innings. His only allowed scores were off the home-run in the second inning. He allowed a lead off single before putting the next two batters away with strikeouts looking. He was a single out away from another quality start, unfortuantely an uncharacteristic Bobby Witt Jr error would leave him without. John Schrieber is in for relief with runners on first and second base and two outs.

7:21 p.m. - Maikel Garcia pushes a fly ball out to left that looked like a routine out. Luckily for the Royals, Esteury Ruiz failed to track the ball allowing Garcia to come around to second. Witt Jr would advance the runner and Pasquantino would drive him in with a single to right off the glove of the second baseman Zack Gelof. 3-2 Royals

7:16 p.m. - Holy smokes Vinnie Paquantino! The first baseman caught a ball that came off the bat at 103 MPH in-stride while tagging first base to turn a double play. One of the more impressive defensive plays of the game, or even the season as a whole. 2-2

7:02 p.m. - Both pitchers are starting to find their groove with both going back-to-back half innings without allowing a run. Lugo has thrown 60 pitches through four innings and Stripling has 45 pitches through three innings. This may come down to the bullpens sooner than later in this game, a situation that favors the Royals bullpen that holds a 3.43 ERA. 2-2

6:50 p.m. - Both pitchers have a bounce back half-inning after allowing two runs a piece, the game is still knotted going into the bottom of the third with Bobby Witt Jr coming to the plate for Kansas City. 2-2

6:36 p.m. - Lugo bouncesd back after allowing the two-run home run to get out of the inning before any more damage can be done. Both offenses are working well early. Lugo has shown his ability in previous contests to calm down after allowing runs, so this game may depend on if he can replicate that success here. 2-2

6:32 p.m. - Lugo makes a rare mistake, allowing a double in to left on a good awareness play by Zack Gelof on the bases before Seth Brown took a middle-middle cutter 445' dead center field to put the score even. 2-2

6:28 p.m. - Ross Stripling gets himself out of the inning, inducing two pop-outs that made it just outside of the infield. The damage has been done though and Lugo is hard enough to beat without being in an early defecit. The A's will be back up in the top of the second. 2-0 Royals

6:23 p.m. - The Royals strike early in this one. Vinnie Pasquantino moved both runners over before a Salvador Perez single to left scored both Witt Jr and Garcia. The best part for the Royals is it might not be over, as Michael Massey follows Perez with a single of his own. 2-0 Royals

6:19 p.m. - Maikel Garcia gets the Royals going, turning a two strike single into a base hit. Bobby Witt Jr would continue the hitting, pushing the ball to right field for a single of his own. The Royals have shown ability to strike early, and now they have a chance with runners on first and second and nobody out. 0-0

6:15 p.m. - Two strikeouts and an induced groundout later, Lugo avoids the runner even advancing as the A's go down quietly after their first batter. 0-0

6:10 p.m. - The game is underway with a first pitch single by Abraham Toro. Lugo will be looking to neutralize runners on the base path early in this one. 0-0

How to watch:

Where: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO.

When: First pitch is scheduled for 6:10 p.m. CT.

TV: You can watch the game on Bally Sports KC or MLB.TV (blackouts may apply depending on location).

Starting Pitchers

KC - Seth Lugo (6-1, 1.66 ERA)

OAK - Ross Stripling (1-7, 4.98 ERA)

Batting Order/Lineup

KC: 1. Maikel Garcia (3B) 2. Bobby Witt Jr. (SS) 3. Vinnie Pasquantino (1B) 4. Salvador Perez (C) 5. Michael Massey (DH) 6. Nelson Velazquez (RF) 7. MJ Melendez (LF) 8. Adam Frazier (2B) 9. Kyle Isbel (CF)

OAK: 1. Abraham Toro (3B) 2. JJ Bleday (CF) 3. Brent Rooker (DH) 4. Shea Langeliers (C) 5. Tyler Soderstrom (1B) 6. Zack Gelof (2B) 7. Seth Brown (RF) 8. Max Schuemann (SS) 9. Esteury Ruiz (LF)

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