A Royals Pitcher Blanked Our M's Last Saturday, And The League Is Still Talking About His Next Start

Holy moly, M's fans, did you catch what went down last Saturday? While we're out here just trying to figure out if our beloved Mariners can get consistent, a Kansas City Royals pitcher, Stephen Kolek, just tossed a *second career shutout* against *our own team*! Yeah, you read that right. He absolutely silenced the M's, giving up just four hits and one walk while fanning two. He threw a career-high 108 pitches, a true gem against our guys. Now, as if that wasn't enough to chew on, Kolek is about to take the mound again for a Royals team that's in a freefall, facing off against another club that's absolutely drowning in their own slump, the Texas Rangers. This series could be wild.

Kansas City's Absolute Nightmare Continues

Let's just say the Royals are having a rough time, and that's an understatement. They've dropped an insane 13 of their last 16 games, sinking to a season-low 12 games under .500. Talk about a brutal stretch. To make matters worse, they just got swept in three straight games by the New York Yankees, extending their losing streak against those guys to 14 straight! The Yankees outscored them a ridiculous 26-4 in that series. Ouch. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. didn't pull any punches, saying, "It sucks. Getting swept at home and losing however many games in a row to those guys. Just a tough pill to swallow. But you move on and you get better from it. Comes down to us. How much do we want it? How bad do we want it? We can keep digging ourselves a hole, or we can come out of it." Their manager, Matt Quatraro, is trying to stay positive, claiming they "believe in the things that we have in place," but man, the numbers are grim as they start a 10-game road trip.

The Rangers Aren't Much Better, But Gore Is Heating Up

The Texas Rangers are in their own world of pain, though maybe not as deep as the Royals. They've lost six of their last seven games, putting them six games under .500 for a season-worst mark. They just dropped three of four to the Houston Astros, and their first-inning struggles are becoming legendary. Seriously, their rotation has a league-high 7.23 ERA in the first inning this season! Acting manager Luis Urueta noted it's "been a pattern that teams have been scoring in the first inning." But here's where it gets interesting: the Rangers are sending MacKenzie Gore to the mound. The 27-year-old lefty has been battling inconsistency, but he's been strong lately, posting a 1-1 record with a 2.40 ERA over his last three starts, including a no-decision where he allowed just one run over six innings against the Angels. Manager Skip Schumaker even said, "I've seen a really good MacKenzie Gore this year. He's had a couple bad ones, but he's human, and you're allowed to have those. I think you're going to see more of these types of outings for the remainder of the year." Good news for Texas, but not so great for Starling Marte who's 5-for-13 (.385) with a homer against Gore in their matchups. Now, with Kolek (3-0, 2.77 ERA) pitching after that absolute masterpiece against our M's, and Gore (3-4, 4.42 ERA) trying to continue his strong run for the Rangers, this series opener is going to be a fascinating watch. Kolek's only faced Texas twice before, going 0-1 with an 8.10 ERA, so the Rangers might have a chance to break out, especially Jake Burger who is 3-for-3 against Kolek. Can one of these teams finally bust their slump, or will it be another spiral down? We'll be watching to see if Kolek can replicate that dominant performance against our M's, or if the Rangers' bats can wake up.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.