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FinalFinal lineupsAL Central / NL Central

Kansas City Royals 5, Pittsburgh Pirates 6

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

6:40 PM ET · PNC ParkGame-day snapshot Sep 21, 2:01 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 12, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score37
Kansas City Royals
69–93 · 5th AL Central · T-Score 37
5
5–6
FINAL · 9 innings
Pittsburgh Pirates
82–80 · 3rd NL Central · T-Score 53
6
T-Score53
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
Noah CameronKC
Starter
6.0742694
Steven CruzKC
ReliefLoss
1.0220117
Bubba ChandlerPIT
Starter
4.0831690
Luke WeaverPIT
ReliefWin
1.0000113
Mason MontgomeryPIT
ReliefSave
1.0001121
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
KCKansas City Royals0010202005131
PITPittsburgh Pirates020200020691
Top hitters
Brandon Lowe2-for-4 · 1 HR · 2 RBI
Ronny Simon1-for-4 · 1 HR · 2 RBI
Jake Mangum1-for-3 · 1 HR · 2 RBI
Carter Jensen1-for-5 · 1 HR · 1 RBI
Nick Loftin4-for-5 · 1 RBI

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherRoyalsCameron leads Chandler in P-Score (58 vs 51), WHIP and last-5 ERA.
LineupRoyalsKansas's official lineup includes 6 left-handed bats against the opposing starter.
BullpenPiratesPittsburgh owns a 3.94 bullpen ERA this season, compared with Kansas's 4.57.
Recent formPiratesPittsburgh has been the better recent team, at 6–4 over the last 10.
WeatherModerate impactA 3 mph wind could modestly increase carry on fly balls.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

KC
Noah Cameron LHP
Noah Cameron
Kansas City Royals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.84
110th
WHIP
1.19
85th
K/9
8.06
118th
BB/9
2.81
95th
P-Score58i
FIP
–
HR/9
0.92
88th
OPS/R
–
IP
166.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
2.25
QUALITY
START %
60%
(3 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
PIT
Bubba Chandler RHP
Bubba Chandler
Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
4.28
140th
WHIP
1.35
155th
K/9
8.06
112th
BB/9
4.58
208th
P-Score51i
FIP
–
HR/9
0.86
42nd
OPS/R
–
IP
147.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
4.50
QUALITY
START %
20%
(1 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
How the starters differ
·Cameron walks 1.8 fewer batters per nine innings.
·Cameron has produced a quality start in 60% of outings versus 20%.
·Cameron owns a 2.25 ERA over his last five starts, compared with 4.50 for Chandler.
·Cameron carries a 3.36 road ERA, compared with Chandler's 4.43 mark at home.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Cameron arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam24%92.5
Cutter21%89.8
Changeup20%81.0
Curveball17%81.7
Slider13%85.2
Sinker5%91.5
Eephus Pitch0%57.4
Chandler arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam48%98.3
Slider21%91.1
Changeup14%91.5
Sinker8%97.7
Curveball4%86.8
Sweeper4%87.8

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Royals vs RHP (Bubba Chandler)
13th
in MLB
0.727OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Pirates vs LHP (Noah Cameron)
17th
in MLB
0.701OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineup strength vs today's starter

Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.

Updated Sep 19, 3:40 PM ET
KCKC
.732
−34 ptsOPS edge
PITPIT
.766

Slight edge: PIT

Full lineup comparison

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Kansas City RoyalsOfficial lineupvs RHP Bubba Chandler
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Chandler (BvP)
1Carter JensenLC73.79027.837No MLB historyNo history
2Bobby Witt Jr.RSS75.80018.783No MLB historyNo history
3Jac CaglianoneLRF72.83423.882No MLB historyNo history
4Vinnie PasquantinoL1B66.76117.826No MLB historyNo history
5Michael MasseyL2B58.73513.721No MLB historyNo history
6Nick LoftinR3B51.7108.685No MLB historyNo history
7John RaveLRF54.7446.785No MLB historyNo history
8Kyle IsbelLCF34.5916.652No MLB historyNo history
9Isaac CollinsSLF49.6416.6601-for-2Very small sample
1Carter Jensen C · L.239 / .790 · 27 HRvs hand .837 · No MLB history · No history73H-Score2Bobby Witt Jr. SS · R.281 / .800 · 18 HRvs hand .783 · No MLB history · No history75H-Score3Jac Caglianone RF · L.289 / .834 · 23 HRvs hand .882 · No MLB history · No history72H-Score4Vinnie Pasquantino 1B · L.249 / .761 · 17 HRvs hand .826 · No MLB history · No history66H-Score5Michael Massey 2B · L.274 / .735 · 13 HRvs hand .721 · No MLB history · No history58H-Score6Nick Loftin 3B · R.240 / .710 · 8 HRvs hand .685 · No MLB history · No history51H-Score7John Rave RF · L.232 / .744 · 6 HRvs hand .785 · No MLB history · No history54H-Score8Kyle Isbel CF · L.224 / .591 · 6 HRvs hand .652 · No MLB history · No history34H-Score9Isaac Collins LF · S.213 / .641 · 6 HRvs hand .660 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample49H-Score
Pittsburgh PiratesOfficial lineupvs LHP Noah Cameron
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs LHPVs Cameron (BvP)
1Konnor GriffinRSS48.7286.822No MLB historyNo history
2Oneil CruzLCF74.85420.849No MLB historyNo history
3Bryan ReynoldsSLF74.78917.8241-for-3Very small sample
4Rafael Flores Jr.RC65.85811.809No MLB historyNo history
5Brandon LoweL2B73.82435.6120-for-2Very small sample
6Nick GonzalesR3B52.7556.6530-for-2Very small sample
7Ryan O'HearnLRF63.77018.630No MLB historyNo history
8Ronny SimonSRF—.6481.364No MLB historyNo history
9Jake MangumSCF40.6945.675No MLB historyNo history
1Konnor Griffin SS · R.272 / .728 · 6 HRvs hand .822 · No MLB history · No history48H-Score2Oneil Cruz CF · L.280 / .854 · 20 HRvs hand .849 · No MLB history · No history74H-Score3Bryan Reynolds LF · S.261 / .789 · 17 HRvs hand .824 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample74H-Score4Rafael Flores Jr. C · R.264 / .858 · 11 HRvs hand .809 · No MLB history · No history65H-Score5Brandon Lowe 2B · L.260 / .824 · 35 HRvs hand .612 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample73H-Score6Nick Gonzales 3B · R.303 / .755 · 6 HRvs hand .653 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample52H-Score7Ryan O'Hearn RF · L.265 / .770 · 18 HRvs hand .630 · No MLB history · No history63H-Score8Ronny Simon RF · S.254 / .648 · 1 HRvs hand .364 · No MLB history · No history—H-Score9Jake Mangum CF · S.276 / .694 · 5 HRvs hand .675 · No MLB history · No history40H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseKCKC·PITPIT
AVG.248 8th.253 5th
OPS.718 16th.734 6th
Home runs170 21st186 13th
Runs690 22nd767 6th
OBP.316 18th.330 4th
SLG.402 15th.404 9th
PitchingKCKC·PITPIT
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.77vs4.14
KCPIT
WHIP1.41vs1.30
KCPIT
K/97.4vs9.3
KCPIT
HR Allowed210vs155
KCPIT
BullpenKCKC·PITPIT
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA4.57vs3.94
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.44vs1.30
no league rank
Saves38vs41
KCPIT
ResultsKCKC·PITPIT
+21728th
Run differential
+3737th
69–93 Record82–80
3–7 Last 106–4
Last 10 games
Kansas City Royals (3–7)
L
L
W
L
L
L
W
W
L
L
Pittsburgh Pirates (6–4)
W
W
L
L
W
L
L
W
W
W
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
3—0
3 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Royals?+
Noah Cameron (3.84 ERA, 9–8) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Pirates?+
Bubba Chandler (4.28 ERA, 8–9) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
6:40 PM ET at PNC Park.
Where is the game being played?+
PNC Park, home of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Royals and Pirates performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Pirates 0–3 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Noah Cameron is at 58; Bubba Chandler is at 51. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.