Luis Arraez doubles in return to lineup

As goes Loftin, so go the Royals. This makes seven times this season that the Royals have scored 10 runs with him in the starting lineup, and he’s 17-for-33 with three homers and 14 RBI in those games. He’s hit .177 with one homer and 15 RBI in his remaining 49 appearances.

Lugo made his own trouble in the first, when he committed the first of the Royals’ three errors on a three-run infield debacle. After that, though, it was mostly just him getting hit hard. A.J. Ewing hit a two-run homer in the second, and Juan Soto delivered a three-run blast in the fourth. It’s the third time this year that Lugo has given up at least seven runs. He’s allowed two earned runs or fewer in 10 of 18 turns, but the blowups have left him with a 4.56 ERA. He’ll face the Orioles on Sunday.

Senga left with the Mets up 9-4, which put him in line for a rather undeserved victory, but then the Royals scored 12 runs off Austin Warren and Matt Seelinger between the fifth and seventh innings. That might have made Senga look better in comparison, but four walks while generating just six whiffs isn’t a good combination. He’ll be available to pitch Sunday against the Red Sox, but it remains to see what kind of form that will take. The Mets would probably go with a bullpen game if they get length from Freddy Peralta on Saturday.

Thomas pulverized the ball tonight, with his three hits all leaving the bat at 106-108 mph. His last double would have been a homer in 12 ballparks. This gives Thomas five doubles and a homer in his last five games, a span that’s raised his OPS from .653 to .720. Despite his usual struggles against right-handers, the Royals have been mostly forced to treat him as a regular with Kyle Isbel and Vinnie Pasquantino out, and he hasn’t fared too badly. However, with just four steals in seven tries, his fantasy upside isn’t what it used to be.

What more can a guy do? It’s his first four-hit, four-run scored or three-RBI game as a major leaguer, and it was enough to take his OPS from .742 to .790. Ewing will probably do a lot of sitting against lefties after Luis Robert Jr. returns, but he deserves to stay in the lineup against righties, and the Mets outfield defense would be pretty formidable with him playing alongside Robert and Carson Benge on days that Juan Soto serves as a DH.

Benge’s first hit, which opened the scoring in the first, was the most Little League of Little League home runs. Seth Lugo handled the grounder to the right of the mound but then threw wildly past first, after which first baseman Jac Caglianone threw wildly past third and third baseman Nick Loftin threw wildly past home, allowing two baserunners and Benge to all score. They should have just ended the game right then, but the Royals shook off probably the most embarrassing sequence of the 2026 season and ended up winning 16-12.

Carrigg doubled and scored in the sixth inning, then singled and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth, crossing home plate for what would be the winning run for Colorado. The 24-year-old outfielder is hitting an excellent .318/.390/.600 with four homers, 23 runs scored, and 21 RBI across 101 plate appearances.

Ohtani led off the bottom of the first with a solo homer off Michael Lorenzen to put the Dodgers on the board. It was a 112.2 mph shot to center field, going 409 feet. The 32-year-old star is up to 20 homers, 62 runs scored, and 56 RBI while slashing .294/.409/.541 across 391 plate appearances.

Romano was summoned in the bottom of the ninth with a one-run lead to close out the game against the Dodgers. He worked around a hit and a walk, striking out the final batter to convert his fifth save of the season, second with the Rockies. The 33-year-old right-hander has immediately stepped into the closer role in Colorado. Still, he holds a 7.36 ERA across 11 innings this season.

Lorenzen surrendered a leadoff homer to Shohei Ohtani in the first inning. He got through three more scoreless innings before allowing a second run in on a bases-loaded walk in the fifth. The two runs would be all the Dodgers could get across on Lorenzen through five frames. An error and a hit in the sixth brought an unearned run in. Lorenzen’s day would be done at 95 pitches. He struck out five. The 34-year-old right-hander will take a 6.65 ERA, 1.79 WHIP, and a 72/35 K/BB ratio across 92 innings into a start against the Giants in San Francisco on Sunday.