Kansas City Royals at New York Mets

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
KC	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	2	8	0
NYM	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	—	6	9	0

Christian Scott got the ball for the Mets looking to bounce back from a rough turn against Atlanta, while Steven Cruz took the mound for Kansas City trying to build off a short but clean outing against the White Sox. Neither pitcher had exactly locked things down lately, which made this one feel like it could go either way early.

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ML

Total

Royals(38-54)

WWWLL

2

+1.5-113+178o8.5-156

Mets(38-54)

LWWLL

6

-1.5+111-182u8.5+156

Best BetMets -148

Postgame

Hit — the Mets won outright 6-2, with the bullpen advantage bull point carrying the day late.

Pregame

We backed the Mets at -135 when this pick went up, and the market has since squeezed all the way to -191 — that's a lot of steam for a home team that had dropped 2 of its last 5. Scott's overall season numbers still play better than Cruz's, and New York's deeper bullpen was the safer bet to close out a game that stayed tight into the middle innings.

The Royals are still trying to piece together a lineup without Vinnie Pasquantino, Kyle Isbel and Maikel Garcia, all sidelined, and their rotation is down two former aces in Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic, both on the 60-day IL. The Mets have their own attrition to manage — Marcus Semien isn't walking through that door before August, and New York placed reliever Austin Warren on the 15-day IL the same day this game was played, thinning out a bullpen that had to eat innings late.

Steven Cruz

(2-2)·4.50 ERA

Jun 26 @ White Sox

ND

1.1IP

0ER

3K

1BB

28P

07/08 Lineup

Christian Scott

(3-1)·2.87 ERA

Jul 3 @ Braves

L

4.0IP

3ER

7K

4BB

82P

07/08 Lineup

For six innings this looked like another grind-it-out game between two clubs with nothing but pride on the line. Then the Mets broke it open with a 5-run 8th inning that buried Kansas City for good. The Royals answered with single runs in the 6th and 9th, but it was far too little against the deficit New York built late.

Kansas City Royals

(38-54)

Jul 7W@ Mets16-12

Jul 6Wvs Phillies15-1

Jul 5Wvs Phillies5-2

Jul 5Lvs Phillies1-6

Jul 2Lvs Rays2-5

New York Mets

(38-54)

Jul 7Lvs Royals12-16

Jul 6W@ Braves7-6

Jul 5W@ Braves10-9

Jul 5L@ Braves3-14

Jul 3L@ Braves3-5

Kansas City came in having won 3 of its last 5, including a wild 16-12 win over these same Mets just a night earlier, so there was real momentum on the Royals' side entering the series finale. New York had dropped 2 of its previous 5, including a 14-run beatdown from Atlanta, and desperately needed to salvage something out of this set rather than get swept at home.

Kansas City Royals

(12)

• 10-Day-ILVinnie Pasquantino (1B) — Pasquantino (hand) went 2-for-3 with an RBI and a walk with Triple-A Omaha on Tuesday.07/08
• 10-Day-ILKyle Isbel (CF) — Isbel will not begin a rehab assignment Tuesday as hoped after feeling soreness in his left foot while running this past weekend, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.07/06
• 10-Day-ILMaikel Garcia (3B) — Garcia (hand) is rehabbing in Kansas City but has yet to resume swinging a bat, and he'll be re-evaluated during the All-Star break, MLB.com reports.07/05
• bereavementStephen Kolek (SP) — The Royals placed Kolek (personal) on the Family Medical Emergency List on Saturday.07/05
• 15-Day-ILConnor Seabold (RP) — The Royals placed Seabold on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a right lat strain.07/01
• 15-Day-ILNick Mears (RP) — Mears (shoulder) threw a bullpen Saturday, MLB.com reports.06/29
• 60-Day-ILKris Bubic (SP) — Bubic (elbow/shoulder) received a cortisone injection Thursday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.07/02
• 60-Day-ILCole Ragans (SP) — Ragans underwent UCL repair surgery on his left elbow Wednesday, Anne Rogers of MLB.com reports.07/02
• 60-Day-ILCarlos Estevez (RP) — Estevez (shoulder) received an injection Wednesday and will be shut down for the rest of the week before being re-evaluated, MLB.com reports.07/02
• 60-Day-ILJonathan India (2B) — no06/04
• 60-Day-ILJames McArthur (RP) — McArthur (elbow) underwent surgery Friday to help combat continued soreness and inflammation, MLB.com reports.05/25
• 60-Day-ILAlec Marsh (SP) — The Royals placed Marsh (shoulder) on the 60-day injured list Thursday.05/08

New York Mets

(8)

• 10-Day-ILMarcus Semien (2B) — Semien (hip) is unlikely to return before the end of July, Tim Britton and Will Sammon of The Athletic report.07/08
• 15-Day-ILAustin Warren (RP) — The Mets placed Warren on the 15-day injured list Wednesday with a right forearm strain.07/08
• 60-Day-ILClay Holmes (SP) — Holmes (fibula) might begin a rehab assignment in the second half of July, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.07/06
• 60-Day-ILLuis Robert Jr. (CF) — Robert (back) will start a rehab assignment with Triple-A Syracuse on Tuesday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.06/29
• 60-Day-ILDedniel Nunez (RP) — Nunez (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A St. Lucie on Thursday, Michael Mayer of MetsmerizedOnline.com reports.06/25
• 60-Day-ILReed Garrett (RP) — The Mets placed Garrett (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.05/08
• 60-Day-ILJustin Hagenman (RP) — The Mets placed Hagenman on the 60-day injured list Saturday due to a rib fracture.05/08
• 60-Day-ILTylor Megill (SP) — The Mets placed Megill (elbow) on the 60-day injured list Thursday, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports.05/08

Both rosters are banged up enough that it's fair to wonder how either club plays out the stretch before the All-Star break. Kansas City is waiting on updates on Garcia's hand and Isbel's foot, while New York is nursing Luis Robert Jr. back from a rehab assignment and hoping Clay Holmes can return from a fibula issue later this month.

At 38-54 apiece, neither of these teams is playing for much beyond pride and evaluation time the rest of the summer, but the finale still had its moments — a tight, low-scoring game for most of the night before the Mets' bullpen and lineup depth finally showed up when it mattered.