KANSAS CITY -- As the losses pile up and the frustration with the offense reaches a boiling point, the Royals held a players-only team meeting after Saturday’s 4-0 loss to the A’s at Kauffman Stadium.
The loss marked the Royals’ fifth consecutive loss during which they’ve been outscored, 21-5. As they fell to three games below .500 (34-37) for the first time since April 24, the Royals have lost seven of their last eight and 21 of their last 31 since May 10.
The series loss to the A’s marked the Royals’ ninth series loss in their last 11 tries, and their eighth shutout loss of the season matched their total from 2024.
It has been about as rough of a stretch as the Royals could have endured at this point of the season for a team coming off a postseason appearance and with high expectations to compete at the top of the American League Central.
It’s only mid-June, with still over half their schedule left to play, but the Royals sit 11 1/2 games behind the first-place Tigers and 2 1/2 games out of an AL Wild Card spot. The only teams that have more losses than the Royals in the AL are the Orioles (40), Athletics (44) and White Sox (48).
In other words, it was time for the players to get together and talk.
“Because it keeps going on over and over again, where it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s going to come, it’s going to come,’” shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. said. “But no, it hasn’t come. We have to figure something out. We have to change something. So the time was now.”
Witt and captain Salvador Perez spoke about the potential for calling a team-wide meeting on Friday. When things didn’t get better Saturday, they pulled everyone together shortly after the game.
“We’re just here to hold each other accountable as a group,” starter Michael Lorenzen, who allowed three runs in six innings Saturday, said. “We’re not getting the job done on both sides. We’re a group of professionals and hold ourselves to a high standard, and that standard is to win ballgames. We’re just not doing that right now.”
For more than 20 minutes postgame, several hitters and pitchers spoke up. The goal was to get on the same page -- and remind each other that they’re a team over anything else.
“That was clear after that meeting,” said Vinnie Pasquantino, who was not one of the players who spoke during the meeting. “There is nothing but guys who are supporting each other on this team. I think that’s the main piece is that everybody’s got each other’s backs. From the starting lineup, the starting rotation, to the bullpen. They made that evidently clear.”
Witt emphasized that he wants everyone to get back to enjoying themselves on the field. It’s hard to do that when the results have been what they are. The offense has scored five runs in five games this homestand, and the Royals’ 3.31 runs per game this year ranks third-worst in the Majors in front of the Rockies (3.27) and Pirates (3.19).
Witt is in a particularly tough stretch, having gone just 1-for-18 this homestand. Perez, who was in the trainer’s room when the clubhouse opened to media after the meeting, is starting to see results in June, but is still hitting .235 this season with six home runs and what would be a career-low .639 OPS.
“It starts with me,” Witt said. “... When I’m going, things are going better. I’ve just got to get back to being myself and not put pressure on myself, but just go out there, be comfortable and confident and enjoy the game. That’s what I want to get back to doing. It’s frustrating that I’m not doing what I’m capable of doing. And doing it very poorly. I got to get back to being myself.”
Hitters have been pressing as the struggles mount. That puts pressure on the pitching staff to be perfect. And that pressure snowballs to the whole team in a stretch like this.
The meeting was intended to relieve some of that pressure, knowing that now actions must follow.
“From an offensive standpoint, you feel like you’re letting the other half of the team down,” Pasquantino said. “That’s where the pressure comes from -- we’re letting the team down. And then you get to [hear], ‘Guys, we’ve let the team down before too. You guys have picked us up.’ Let’s all get on the same page and create some energy and do something.”
Saturday’s game lacked energy, and it was evident from the stands to the press box to the dugout. The Royals managed three hits off A’s starter Jacob Lopez, who tossed six scoreless innings and struck out nine batters.
The Royals hope the meeting provides a spark for Sunday’s series finale.
“I felt like nobody enjoyed today,” Pasquantino said. “It’s quiet. Even in the first inning, it’s quiet. Tomorrow, that won’t be the case. We’ll be ready to roll. Smiles on our faces ready to win a ballgame.”