By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The Kansas City Royals clinched their first winning season since 2015, Bobby Witt Jr. drove in his 100th run of the season, and the Royals defeated the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-1 on Saturday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh.
It was Witt Jr. that opened the scoring as just the second batter of the game in the first inning, a solo home run to left center field, marking his 100th RBI. Witt is now the second Royals player to hit the century mark, joining catcher and captain Salvador Perez.
The Royals would extend the lead in the fifth inning, Maikel Garcia doubling to score Adam Frazier, before Witt Jr. would record RBI 101 with a sacrifice fly to drive in Garcia, pushing the Kansas City lead to 3-0. The Pirates would get their only run in the bottom half, Oneil Cruz singling to score Jared Triolo.
In the sixth inning Kansas City would get the run back, Michael Massey scoring as Freddy Fermin reached base on a fielding error. In the seventh Witt Jr. would strike again, this time hitting his 43rd double to drive in Kyle Isbel.
Michael Wacha earned his 13th win of the season, pitching five innings and striking out eight batters while giving up one run on four hits. Witt Jr. was the leading hitter going 2-for-3 with three RBIs and one run scored. Witt had a chance to take the team lead in RBIs in the ninth but was intentionally walked after going up 3-0 on Pirates reliever David Bednar.
With 102 RBIs on the season, Witt Jr. is now tied with Perez for the team lead. The next closest Royal is Vinnie Pasquantino, whose currently out with a thumb injury, with 97 RBIs. MJ Melendez, the next closest active player, has 44 RBIs.
The Royals are trying to win every game they can in the final sprint of the season, but Saturday’s was significant as their 82nd of the year, guaranteeing a winning season for the first time since 2015, when the eventual World Series champions went 95-67 in the regular season.
Kansas City will close out their series with Pittsburgh on Sunday. Brady Singer will take the mound against Jared Jones. First pitch is at 12:35, pregame will begin at noon on KFEQ.