Another rocky start by M’s Hancock leads to Royals win

SEATTLE — The Kansas City Royals entered July with a clean slate.

After a disappointing June, during which KC lost 18 of 26 games, the Royals began the pivotal summer month looking to stack winning days.

And they leaned on their maligned offense to lead the way.

On Tuesday, the Royals earned a 6-3 victory against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park behind multiple contributors.

Infielders Nick Loftin and Maikel Garcia logged RBIs. Captain Salvador Perez recorded a two-run single as he surpassed Royals Hall of Famer Alex Gordon on the club’s all-time hits list.

Kyle Isbel was also productive at the bottom of the order. He capped a two-run second inning with a fielder’s choice RBI.

“Pretty good as we came out tonight and competed,” Perez told FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City reporter Joel Goldberg postgame. “We got the job done today. It was pretty good for us and a great win for the team.”

Mariners starter Emerson Hancock battled all night. The Royals worked several deep counts and took advantage of mistake pitches. Perez doubled off the right-field wall as Mariners star Julio Rodriguez misplayed the fly ball.

Hancock allowed all five runs in six innings. He tossed 70 of 102 pitches for strikes.

Mariners manager Dan Wilson explained what happened on the play.

“When he went back to find the ball, it looked like it had moved a little bit on him,” Wilson told the Seattle Times’ Adam Jude. “But I thought in general the wind was kind of funky tonight out there in the outfield. Looked like there were a lot of balls where guys were just unsure until the last moment what was happening.”

The Royals (40-46) got a solid start from Michael Lorenzen. The veteran right-hander kept the Mariners at an arm’s length through 4 ⅔ innings. Despite allowing a solo home run to Randy Arozarena, his third of the series, Lorenzen was able to navigate the Mariners’ offense.

“Lorenzen did a good job in the beginning of the game and then the bullpen held tight,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro told reporters postgame. “It’s a tough lineup and they are hard to navigate with their pinch hitters. They can beat you in a lot of different ways and the bullpen was lights out.”

Mariners star Cal Raleigh struck out four times. His last strikeout came as Royals reliever Steven Cruz threw a 101.3 mph fastball by him.

“We rely on our bullpen a lot and they do that a lot for us,” Lorenzen said postgame, via FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City. “I’d like to give more length but they didn’t need it. They came in and (Jon) Schreiber did a good job getting that third out I couldn’t get. And then everyone kind of picked each other up after that.”

The Royals hung on in the late innings. Carlos Estevez earned his 23rd save as the Royals moved to 4 ½ games behind the Mariners (44-41) in the AL Wild Card race.

“We are built to win as a full 26-man (roster) and more,” Quatraro said. “You saw a lot of contributions from guys at the bottom of the lineup and the top of the lineup.”

As Bobby Witt Jr. looks to secure his spot in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, he made sure to give last-chance voters one more thing to think about.

Witt ripped a line-drive double off Mariners reliever Juan Burgos in the ninth inning. It was his MLB-leading 30th double as he is six clear of New York Mets star Pete Alonso (24) this season.

Witt advanced to the second phase in the All-Star voting. Fans have until Wednesday at 11 a.m. Central Time to cast a final vote.

The Royals held a two-run lead in the eighth inning but had a daunting task ahead. The Mariners had their power hitters lurking in the batting order.

So Royals manager Matt Quatraro turned to Steven Cruz Cruz in high leverage. And Cruz responded with a clean inning that included some high-velocity pitches.

“When you throw 101 miles per hour like that with that cutter, you can do a lot of things in this game,” Perez said. “It’s pretty good for him. … All the bullpen guys did a good job tonight.”

Cruz retired Julio Rodriguez with a groundout. He later got Raleigh to strike out before getting Jorge Polanco to end the inning.

In the frame, Cruz pumped 100 mph fastballs as he earned a key hold in the victory.

“We just have to play consistently better in all phases and tonight was a good step in that direction,” Quatraro said.