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FinalFinal lineupsAL Central / NL Central

Kansas City Royals 3, Pittsburgh Pirates 4

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

1:35 PM ET · PNC ParkGame-day snapshot Sep 22, 2:00 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 29, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score28
Kansas City Royals
69–93 · 5th AL Central · T-Score 28
3
3–4
FINAL · 9 innings
Pittsburgh Pirates
82–80 · 3rd NL Central · T-Score 43
4
T-Score43
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
Michael WachaKC
Starter
5.24245113
Nate PearsonKC
ReliefLoss
0.2320125
Lake BacharPIT
Starter
1.0310120
Carmen MlodzinskiPIT
ReliefWin
3.0321145
Mason MontgomeryPIT
ReliefSave
1.0100111
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
KCKansas City Royals100000200391
PITPittsburgh Pirates000101020481
Top hitters
Rafael Flores Jr.2-for-3 · 1 HR · 2 RBI · 1 BB
Vinnie Pasquantino1-for-1 · 1 HR · 2 RBI
Oneil Cruz1-for-4 · 1 HR · 1 RBI
Salvador Perez2-for-4 · 1 RBI
Spencer Horwitz1-for-4 · 1 RBI

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherRoyalsWacha owns the stronger overall starter profile, with the higher P-Score and better strikeout and baserunner rates.
Offense vs handPiratesPittsburgh owns a .749 OPS vs RHP, 6th in MLB; Kansas ranks 13th vs RHP.
LineupPiratesThe confirmed Pittsburgh order includes 6 hitters with an OPS above .750 against right-handed pitching.
BullpenPiratesPittsburgh owns a 3.99 bullpen ERA this season, compared with Kansas's 4.70.
Recent formPiratesPittsburgh has been the better recent team, at 6–4 over the last 10.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

KC
Michael Wacha RHP
Michael Wacha
Kansas City Royals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.34
39th
WHIP
1.10
36th
K/9
7.11
164th
BB/9
2.34
46th
P-Score61i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.29
142nd
OPS/R
–
IP
188.2
Last 5 starts
ERA
2.18
QUALITY
START %
80%
(4 of 5)
DAYS
REST
5
PIT
Lake Bachar RHP
Lake Bachar
Pittsburgh Pirates
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.50
49th
WHIP
1.12
40th
K/9
9.40
44th
BB/9
3.83
157th
P-Score47i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.42
145th
OPS/R
–
IP
82.1
Last 5 starts
QUALITY
START %
0%
(0 of 5)
DAYS
REST
1
How the starters differ
·Bachar strikes out 2.3 more batters per nine innings.
·Wacha walks 1.5 fewer batters per nine innings.
·Wacha averages 4.1 more innings per start.
·Wacha carries a 3.67 road ERA, compared with Bachar's 2.18 mark at home.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Wacha arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam28%93.1
Changeup25%80.6
Cutter15%89.5
Sinker14%93.2
Curveball10%75.9
Slider9%85.0

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Royals vs RHP (Lake Bachar)
13th
in MLB
0.727OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Pirates vs RHP (Michael Wacha)
6th
in MLB
0.749OPS
.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 20, 11:36 AM ET
KCKC
.729
−37 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 Lake Bachar
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Bachar (BvP)
1Maikel GarciaR3B47.7153.6500-for-1Very small sample
2Bobby Witt Jr.RSS70.80018.7831-for-1Very small sample
3Jac CaglianoneLRF67.83423.8820-for-1Very small sample
4Salvador PerezRDH50.65721.628No MLB historyNo history
5Michael MasseyL2B54.73513.721No MLB historyNo history
6Nick LoftinR3B47.7108.685No MLB historyNo history
7John RaveLRF51.7446.785No MLB historyNo history
8Luke MaileRC—.5021.243No MLB historyNo history
9Tyler TolbertRSS39.7393.817No MLB historyNo history
1Maikel Garcia 3B · R.268 / .715 · 3 HRvs hand .650 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample47H-Score2Bobby Witt Jr. SS · R.281 / .800 · 18 HRvs hand .783 · 1-for-1 · Very small sample70H-Score3Jac Caglianone RF · L.289 / .834 · 23 HRvs hand .882 · 0-for-1 · Very small sample67H-Score4Salvador Perez DH · R.229 / .657 · 21 HRvs hand .628 · No MLB history · No history50H-Score5Michael Massey 2B · L.274 / .735 · 13 HRvs hand .721 · No MLB history · No history54H-Score6Nick Loftin 3B · R.240 / .710 · 8 HRvs hand .685 · No MLB history · No history47H-Score7John Rave RF · L.232 / .744 · 6 HRvs hand .785 · No MLB history · No history51H-Score8Luke Maile C · R.159 / .502 · 1 HRvs hand .243 · No MLB history · No history—H-Score9Tyler Tolbert SS · R.285 / .739 · 3 HRvs hand .817 · No MLB history · No history39H-Score
Pittsburgh PiratesOfficial lineupvs RHP Michael Wacha
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Wacha (BvP)
1Konnor GriffinRSS45.7286.690No MLB historyNo history
2Brandon LoweL2B68.82435.9102-for-13Small sample
3Bryan ReynoldsSLF69.78917.7791-for-1Very small sample
4Oneil CruzLCF69.85420.8581-for-3Very small sample
5Nick GonzalesR3B48.7556.7900-for-2Very small sample
6Ryan O'HearnLRF59.77018.8393-for-10Small sample
7Rafael Flores Jr.RC61.85811.800No MLB historyNo history
8Spencer HorwitzL1B49.70810.734No MLB historyNo history
9Jake MangumSCF38.6945.700No MLB historyNo history
1Konnor Griffin SS · R.272 / .728 · 6 HRvs hand .690 · No MLB history · No history45H-Score2Brandon Lowe 2B · L.260 / .824 · 35 HRvs hand .910 · 2-for-13 · Small sample68H-Score3Bryan Reynolds LF · S.261 / .789 · 17 HRvs hand .779 · 1-for-1 · Very small sample69H-Score4Oneil Cruz CF · L.280 / .854 · 20 HRvs hand .858 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample69H-Score5Nick Gonzales 3B · R.303 / .755 · 6 HRvs hand .790 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample48H-Score6Ryan O'Hearn RF · L.265 / .770 · 18 HRvs hand .839 · 3-for-10 · Small sample59H-Score7Rafael Flores Jr. C · R.264 / .858 · 11 HRvs hand .800 · No MLB history · No history61H-Score8Spencer Horwitz 1B · L.244 / .708 · 10 HRvs hand .734 · No MLB history · No history49H-Score9Jake Mangum CF · S.276 / .694 · 5 HRvs hand .700 · No MLB history · No history38H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseKCKC·PITPIT
AVG.248 8th.253 5th
OPS.718 17th.734 6th
Home runs170 21st186 13th
Runs690 22nd767 6th
OBP.316 18th.330 4th
SLG.402 14th.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 ERA4.70vs3.99
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.46vs1.32
no league rank
Saves38vs41
KCPIT
ResultsKCKC·PITPIT
+31723rd
Run differential
+4446th
69–93 Record82–80
3–7 Last 106–4
Last 10 games
Kansas City Royals (3–7)
L
L
L
W
L
L
L
W
W
L
Pittsburgh Pirates (6–4)
W
W
W
L
L
W
L
L
W
W
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
3—0
3 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Royals?+
Michael Wacha (3.34 ERA, 9–9) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Pirates?+
Lake Bachar (3.50 ERA, 1–4) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
1:35 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?+
Michael Wacha is at 61; Lake Bachar is at 47. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.