KANSAS CITY -- On Friday night, Kyle Isbel blasted off with his Buzz Lightyear bat. On Saturday, he did the same with a Spider-Man bat.
With custom bats designed for Players’ Weekend, Isbel homered on back-to-back nights, and his third-inning long ball on Saturday propelled the Royals to a 3-1 win over the Tigers at Kauffman Stadium, which extended Kansas City’s season-long win streak to seven games.
The Royals haven’t lost since a week ago in Anaheim, and they have a chance for a homestand sweep with Sunday’s series finale against the Tigers on deck.
“It’s what we know is in the tank,” starter Michael Wacha said. “We show up every day ready to compete, and we know it hadn’t gone well for us earlier in the year. But we’re looking forward to coming to the field every day, and it’s been a lot of fun. Looking to keep this thing rolling.”
Isbel used the Buzz Lightyear bat on Friday, because his teammates sometimes call him ‘Buzz.’ On Saturday, he broke out the Spider-Man bat, because that’s the favorite superhero of Isbel’s son, Lane, whose name is also written on the bat. The 3-year-old Lane was carrying the bat around the clubhouse on Friday night; now he might never let it go.
Isbel even shot the Spider-Man web hands into the Royals’ dugout after the ball landed in the right-field seats.
“Guys were joking around before the game, so I just shot it,” Isbel said.
Isbel was just one of the heroes in the Royals’ win on Saturday. After Isbel put them on the board, Salvador Perez clobbered his 17th home run in the fourth inning to pad the lead. Jac Caglianone doubled in the sixth, moved to third on Perez’s groundout and scored on a wild pitch for insurance. By his celebration, Perez seemed more fired up for moving the runner than his home run.
“As soon as they changed the pitcher, Vinnie [Pasquantino] and I talked, like, ‘I’m going to try to move him,’” Perez said. “Bring him in by moving the other way. He threw me a curveball that backed up and jammed me a little bit, but I still hit it to second base. Sometimes things happen. Don’t have the opportunity to bring him in, but the wild pitch scored that run. We’re doing the little things like that, and it’s good for the team.”
But the biggest hero was probably Wacha, who delivered seven strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits and one walk. He struck out six, and the one run came on a monster home run from Hao-Yu Lee in the fifth inning. But that never phased Wacha, who retired seven of the final eight batters he faced and finished his outing at 94 pitches.
Wacha has tossed at least seven innings in 10 of his 26 starts this season, and his 17 quality starts are the most in the American League. Wacha also leads the AL in innings pitched at 162 2/3, which is just 10 away from his career high set last year with the Royals.
In three starts against the Tigers this year, Wacha has tossed seven innings each time and allowed just three total runs.
“He doesn’t really concede anything,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “He doesn’t make a ton of mistakes. ... I thought he bullied us a little bit into some quick at-bats.”
Wacha’s deep start helped a taxed bullpen. High-leverage relievers Steven Cruz, John Schreiber and Nate Pearson were all unavailable. The Royals turned to Alex Lange for a scoreless eighth inning.
Then, the ninth belonged to Craig Kimbrel, who signed with the Royals nearly two weeks ago with 440 career saves, the fifth most in MLB history.
No. 441 on Saturday night was his first as a Royal – and his first since July 7, 2024, with the Orioles.
“Feels pretty good right now, I can’t lie,” Kimbrel said. “It’s been a long road the last few years to get back to this moment. For them to give me the opportunity tonight to go out there and do that, glad I could get it done.”
The Royals are the ninth franchise he’s earned a save with, tied with Octavio Dotel, Goose Gossage and Fernando Rodney for the most such instances since it became an official stat in 1969, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“We talk about this all the time: If you’re going to go on any kind of streak, you’re going to need other guys to step up,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “It’s surely nice to have a guy like that who’s got 440 saves under his belt to come in there.”