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FinalFinal lineupsNL Central / AL Central

Chicago Cubs 3, Kansas City Royals 6

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

7:10 PM ET · Kauffman StadiumStats updated Aug 8, 8:45 PM ETFinal lineups locked
T-Score67
Chicago Cubs
87–69 · 2nd NL Central · T-Score 67
3
3–6
FINAL
Kansas City Royals
67–89 · 5th AL Central · T-Score 35
6
T-Score35
FINAL

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherCubsChicago has the stronger starting-pitcher profile: Holmes leads in P-Score, WHIP and FIP.
Offense vs handCubsChicago has produced the stronger offense against right-handed pitching.
LineupCubsChicago's official lineup includes 2 left-handed bats against the opposing starter.
Recent formCubsChicago has won 7 of its last 10 and owns the stronger recent run differential.
Plate disciplineCubsChicago has drawn 503 walks this season, 141 more than Kansas.

Starting pitchers

CHC
Clay Holmes RHP
Clay Holmes
Chicago Cubs
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.25
37th
WHIP
1.16
48th
K/9
6.96
168th
BB/9
3.62
144th
P-Score61i
FIP
3.58
HR/9
0.56
9th
OPS/R
0.559
IP
97.0
2026 ERA splits
Home ERA1.94
Road ERA3.77
Last 5 starts
ERA
2.73
QUALITY
START %
60%
(3 of 5)
DAYS
REST
85
KC
Seth Lugo RHP
Seth Lugo
Kansas City Royals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
5.06
163rd
WHIP
1.46
175th
K/9
6.98
167th
BB/9
2.88
84th
P-Score48i
FIP
4.16
HR/9
1.22
115th
OPS/R
0.745
IP
169.0
2026 ERA splits
Home ERA4.07
Road ERA6.03
Last 5 starts
ERA
3.86
QUALITY
START %
60%
(3 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
How the starters differ
·Holmes allows fewer baserunners, with a 1.16 WHIP compared with 1.46.
·Holmes enters with a 3.25 ERA compared with Lugo's 5.06.
·Holmes allows the lower home-run rate: 0.56 vs 1.22 per nine.
·Holmes owns a 2.73 ERA over his last five starts, compared with 3.86 for Lugo.
Advanced starter metricsERA−, FIP, WAR, career vs opponent
MetricHolmesLugoNote
ERA−69117Park- and league-adjusted; 100 is average.
FIP3.584.16
WAR1.72.1Season value.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Holmes arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Sinker49%93.1
Sweeper18%81.4
Changeup15%88.0
Cutter10%86.3
Curveball7%81.2
Four-seam1%92.9
Lugo arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Sinker19%91.4
Four-seam16%91.6
Cutter16%89.8
Curveball15%77.2
Sweeper11%79.1
Slider9%84.2
Changeup9%85.1
Slow Curve2%69.2
Slurve1%77.3

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Cubs vs RHP (Seth Lugo)
2nd
in MLB
0.764OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Royals vs RHP (Clay Holmes)
15th
in MLB
0.722OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Chicago CubsOfficial lineupvs RHP Seth Lugo
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Lugo (BvP)
1Pete Crow-ArmstrongLCF88.94945.979No MLB historyNo history
2Seiya SuzukiRRF81.83525.785No MLB historyNo history
3Michael BuschL1B71.74620.736No MLB historyNo history
4Alex BregmanR3B78.80426.784No MLB historyNo history
5Ian HappSLF71.74924.828No MLB historyNo history
6Nico HoernerR2B51.6728.668No MLB historyNo history
7Carson KellyRC62.73010.661No MLB historyNo history
8Dansby SwansonRSS62.71519.695No MLB historyNo history
9Tyrone TaylorRLF66.82211.847No MLB historyNo history
1Pete Crow-Armstrong CF · L.280 / .949 · 45 HRvs hand .979 · No MLB history · No history88H-Score2Seiya Suzuki RF · R.267 / .835 · 25 HRvs hand .785 · No MLB history · No history81H-Score3Michael Busch 1B · L.239 / .746 · 20 HRvs hand .736 · No MLB history · No history71H-Score4Alex Bregman 3B · R.262 / .804 · 26 HRvs hand .784 · No MLB history · No history78H-Score5Ian Happ LF · S.221 / .749 · 24 HRvs hand .828 · No MLB history · No history71H-Score6Nico Hoerner 2B · R.265 / .672 · 8 HRvs hand .668 · No MLB history · No history51H-Score7Carson Kelly C · R.264 / .730 · 10 HRvs hand .661 · No MLB history · No history62H-Score8Dansby Swanson SS · R.220 / .715 · 19 HRvs hand .695 · No MLB history · No history62H-Score9Tyrone Taylor LF · R.274 / .822 · 11 HRvs hand .847 · No MLB history · No history66H-Score
Kansas City RoyalsOfficial lineupvs RHP Clay Holmes
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Holmes (BvP)
1Carter JensenLC77.77325.821No MLB historyNo history
2Bobby Witt Jr.RSS81.79918.791No MLB historyNo history
3Jac CaglianoneLRF78.82123.860No MLB historyNo history
4Isaac CollinsSLF54.6526.677No MLB historyNo history
5Michael MasseyL2B64.74313.721No MLB historyNo history
6John RaveLRF59.7566.798No MLB historyNo history
7Nick LoftinR3B54.7047.686No MLB historyNo history
8Josh RojasL3B33.6232.615No MLB historyNo history
9Kyle IsbelLCF37.5846.648No MLB historyNo history
1Carter Jensen C · L.233 / .773 · 25 HRvs hand .821 · No MLB history · No history77H-Score2Bobby Witt Jr. SS · R.279 / .799 · 18 HRvs hand .791 · No MLB history · No history81H-Score3Jac Caglianone RF · L.282 / .821 · 23 HRvs hand .860 · No MLB history · No history78H-Score4Isaac Collins LF · S.217 / .652 · 6 HRvs hand .677 · No MLB history · No history54H-Score5Michael Massey 2B · L.274 / .743 · 13 HRvs hand .721 · No MLB history · No history64H-Score6John Rave RF · L.228 / .756 · 6 HRvs hand .798 · No MLB history · No history59H-Score7Nick Loftin 3B · R.240 / .704 · 7 HRvs hand .686 · No MLB history · No history54H-Score8Josh Rojas 3B · L.240 / .623 · 2 HRvs hand .615 · No MLB history · No history33H-Score9Kyle Isbel CF · L.218 / .584 · 6 HRvs hand .648 · No MLB history · No history37H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseCHCCHC·KCKC
AVG.252 6th.245 13th
OPS.772 1st.713 21st
Home runs217 1st162 22nd
Runs835 1st656 24th
OBP.340 2nd.315 19th
SLG.432 1st.398 21st
PitchingCHCCHC·KCKC
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.16vs4.66
CHCKC
WHIP1.26vs1.39
CHCKC
K/97.8vs7.4
CHCKC
HR Allowed228vs196
CHCKC
BullpenCHCCHC·KCKC
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA4.28vs4.63
no league rank
Saves34vs36
CHCKC
ResultsCHCCHC·KCKC
+3851st
Run differential
+13027th
87–69 Record67–89
7–3 Last 103–7
Last 10 games
Chicago Cubs (7–3)
W
W
W
W
W
L
W
L
W
L
Kansas City Royals (3–7)
L
L
W
W
L
L
L
L
W
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
1—2
3 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Cubs?+
Clay Holmes (2.39 ERA, 4–4) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Royals?+
Seth Lugo (4.41 ERA, 4–7) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
7:10 PM ET at Kauffman Stadium.
Where is the game being played?+
Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Cubs and Royals performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Royals 2–1 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Clay Holmes is at 61; Seth Lugo is at 48. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.