To infinity and GONE! Isbel blasts off with Buzz Lightyear Players' Weekend bat 

KANSAS CITY – Kyle Isbel sent this one to infinity… and beyond.

Armed with a Buzz Lightyear bat for Players’ Weekend, the Royals' center fielder hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning Friday night to help Kansas City to a 5-2 win over the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium and extend its win streak to a season-high six games. It marks the Royals’ first win streak of at least six games since they won seven consecutive games from May 3-9, 2025.

Isbel had a few bats designed for his usage for Players’ Weekend this year and chose the Buzz Lightyear bat because his nickname has been ‘Buzz’ for the majority of his pro career. He’s not quite sure where it derived from – perhaps because of all the diving catches he’s made out in center field has had his teammates thinking he looks like the flying hero known for protecting his friends.

“Just let him keep using it,” Vinnie Pasquantino said. “He’s The Buzz.”

“Probably [got the nickname] before the beard came in,” Isbel added with a grin.

Isbel’s son, Lane, is a big fan of Toy Story and Buzz Lightyear as well, but Spider-Man is actually Lane’s favorite superhero. So Isbel is thinking of using his Spider-Man-designed bat on Saturday. Throughout this weekend, MLB is celebrating players and what makes them unique, so several Royals showcased their personalities and passions with custom cleats, gloves, belts and bats.

When Tigers starter Troy Melton threw Isbel a 2-1 fastball in the zone, Isbel didn’t miss it, sending it a Statcast-projected 387 feet to the right-field seats. It was Isbel’s fifth home run of the season, and his second since coming off the injured list on Aug. 2 after missing nearly two months with left plantar fasciitis. It took Isbel a little bit to get going after his IL stint, but he’s now hit safely in six of his last nine games.

That includes a multi-hit game Friday night with the home run and RBI double in the eighth inning, giving the Royals some insurance for reliever Nate Pearson in the ninth inning. Pearson allowed a leadoff double and a two-out walk to bring the tying run to the plate in All-Star Dillon Dingler. A nasty curveball got Dingler to strike out swinging, earning Pearson his third save of the season.

Isbel was not the only Royal to feature some fun in his gear on Friday. Carter Jensen also used a custom ‘Jensen’ bat to send a cutter from Tigers reliever Tyler Holton a Statcast-projected 443 feet to center field for Jensen’s 17th long ball of the year. The Royals catcher was also wearing cleats designed by young patients at Children’s Mercy.

Bobby Witt Jr. and Michael Massey are using Players’ Weekend to highlight Royals superfan Sarah Nauser and raise awareness toward her fight against ALS. Both were wearing custom cleats and swinging custom bats Friday featuring the Sarah’s Soldier’s logo and Fight Like a Girl motto.

“With MLB allowing us to do stuff like this, we wanted to give her a shout out,” Massey said. “She supports us a ton, so anything we can do to give that back is really important. Any opportunity you get to give the support back, you want to take the chance to do it.”