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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 StadiumGame-day snapshot Aug 8, 8:45 PM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 9, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score65
Chicago Cubs
89–73 · 2nd NL Central · T-Score 65
3
3–6
FINAL
Kansas City Royals
69–93 · 5th AL Central · T-Score 31
6
T-Score31
FINAL

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherCubsThe starters are close overall, but Holmes owns the better strikeout and control profile.
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
2.39
38th
WHIP
1.10
68th
K/9
7.69
172nd
BB/9
3.08
156th
P-Score57i
FIP
–
HR/9
0.51
8th
OPS/R
–
IP
52.2
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
4.41
172nd
WHIP
1.39
183rd
K/9
6.92
169th
BB/9
3.15
82nd
P-Score48i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.05
109th
OPS/R
–
IP
128.2
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 1.10 WHIP compared with 1.39.
·Holmes enters with a 2.39 ERA compared with Lugo's 4.41.
·Holmes allows the lower home-run rate: 0.51 vs 1.05 per nine.
·Holmes owns a 2.73 ERA over his last five starts, compared with 3.86 for Lugo.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Holmes arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Sinker49%93.1
Sweeper18%81.3
Changeup15%88.0
Cutter10%86.2
Curveball7%81.1
Four-seam1%92.9
Lugo arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Sinker19%91.4
Four-seam16%91.6
Cutter16%89.8
Curveball15%77.3
Sweeper11%79.2
Slider9%84.3
Changeup9%85.1
Slow Curve2%69.2
Slurve1%77.2

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Cubs vs RHP (Seth Lugo)
3rd
in MLB
0.757OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Royals vs RHP (Clay Holmes)
13th
in MLB
0.727OPS
.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-ArmstrongLCF84.94245.973No MLB historyNo history
2Seiya SuzukiRRF78.84126.797No MLB historyNo history
3Michael BuschL1B68.74520.736No MLB historyNo history
4Alex BregmanR3B76.81928.799No MLB historyNo history
5Ian HappSLF67.73824.816No MLB historyNo history
6Nico HoernerR2B49.6668.665No MLB historyNo history
7Carson KellyRC59.71210.638No MLB historyNo history
8Dansby SwansonRSS55.69419.677No MLB historyNo history
9Tyrone TaylorRLF63.82711.825No MLB historyNo history
1Pete Crow-Armstrong CF · L.280 / .942 · 45 HRvs hand .973 · No MLB history · No history84H-Score2Seiya Suzuki RF · R.270 / .841 · 26 HRvs hand .797 · No MLB history · No history78H-Score3Michael Busch 1B · L.242 / .745 · 20 HRvs hand .736 · No MLB history · No history68H-Score4Alex Bregman 3B · R.265 / .819 · 28 HRvs hand .799 · No MLB history · No history76H-Score5Ian Happ LF · S.218 / .738 · 24 HRvs hand .816 · No MLB history · No history67H-Score6Nico Hoerner 2B · R.263 / .666 · 8 HRvs hand .665 · No MLB history · No history49H-Score7Carson Kelly C · R.258 / .712 · 10 HRvs hand .638 · No MLB history · No history59H-Score8Dansby Swanson SS · R.213 / .694 · 19 HRvs hand .677 · No MLB history · No history55H-Score9Tyrone Taylor LF · R.279 / .827 · 11 HRvs hand .825 · No MLB history · No history63H-Score
Kansas City RoyalsOfficial lineupvs RHP Clay Holmes
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Holmes (BvP)
1Carter JensenLC76.79027.837No MLB historyNo history
2Bobby Witt Jr.RSS78.80018.783No MLB historyNo history
3Jac CaglianoneLRF75.83423.882No MLB historyNo history
4Isaac CollinsSLF51.6416.660No MLB historyNo history
5Michael MasseyL2B60.73513.721No MLB historyNo history
6John RaveLRF57.7446.785No MLB historyNo history
7Nick LoftinR3B53.7108.685No MLB historyNo history
8Josh RojasL3B31.5862.571No MLB historyNo history
9Kyle IsbelLCF36.5916.652No MLB historyNo history
1Carter Jensen C · L.239 / .790 · 27 HRvs hand .837 · No MLB history · No history76H-Score2Bobby Witt Jr. SS · R.281 / .800 · 18 HRvs hand .783 · No MLB history · No history78H-Score3Jac Caglianone RF · L.289 / .834 · 23 HRvs hand .882 · No MLB history · No history75H-Score4Isaac Collins LF · S.213 / .641 · 6 HRvs hand .660 · No MLB history · No history51H-Score5Michael Massey 2B · L.274 / .735 · 13 HRvs hand .721 · No MLB history · No history60H-Score6John Rave RF · L.232 / .744 · 6 HRvs hand .785 · No MLB history · No history57H-Score7Nick Loftin 3B · R.240 / .710 · 8 HRvs hand .685 · No MLB history · No history53H-Score8Josh Rojas 3B · L.226 / .586 · 2 HRvs hand .571 · No MLB history · No history31H-Score9Kyle Isbel CF · L.224 / .591 · 6 HRvs hand .652 · No MLB history · No history36H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseCHCCHC·KCKC
AVG.251 6th.248 8th
OPS.767 1st.718 17th
Home runs220 3rd170 21st
Runs850 1st690 22nd
OBP.339 2nd.316 18th
SLG.428 1st.402 12th
PitchingCHCCHC·KCKC
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.12vs4.77
CHCKC
WHIP1.26vs1.41
CHCKC
K/97.8vs7.4
CHCKC
HR Allowed231vs210
CHCKC
BullpenCHCCHC·KCKC
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA4.28vs4.63
no league rank
Saves36vs38
CHCKC
ResultsCHCCHC·KCKC
+4452nd
Run differential
+19927th
89–73 Record69–93
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 57; Seth Lugo is at 48. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.