Bobby Witt Jr. leads way as Royals take series finale against Diamondbacks

Jaylon Thompson, The Kansas City Star on Sep 9, 2026

Published in Baseball

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KANSAS CITY, Mo.— Kansas City Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. knows what to do with a mistake pitch. And on Wednesday, he made the Arizona Diamondbacks pay.

In the fifth inning, Diamondbacks reliever Michael Soroka left a 94.9 mph sinker over the heart of the plate in a tie game. It seemed like a customary get-me-over fastball after Soroka walked Carter Jensen on six pitches.

Soroka looked for strike one. Instead, Witt was ready as he belted a three-run homer over the left-field wall. It was his 18th home run as the Royals took a 5-2 lead and never looked back in Wednesday’s series finale. They won by the same score.

The Royals (65-82) finished their nine-game homestand on a high note. The offense scored early after being limited the previous two nights.

Royals rookie Carter Jensen also had a big night. He blasted his 23rd homer and now sits one shy of matching Bob Hamelin (24 homers in 1994) for the club’s rookie record.

Meanwhile, Royals left-hander Daniel Lynch IV benefited from the run support. He pitched better after allowing five earned runs in his previous start. This time, Lynch allowed two runs across five innings.

In the first, Lynch navigated multiple baserunners. He walked Diamondbacks leadoff hitter Ildemaro Vargas and issued a one-out double to Geraldo Perdomo. However, he settled down to strand the baserunners and end the inning.

To Lynch’s credit, it was an encouraging sign. He wanted to eliminate starting slowly and recognized a clean inning would benefit him in the long run.

Lynch achieved his goal Wednesday. He worked a scoreless first inning and came back with two strikeouts in a clean second frame. And the Diamondbacks didn’t necessarily damage Lynch throughout the game either.

Diamondbacks star Nolan Arenado tagged Lynch with a solo homer in the fourth inning. And Ketel Marte added an RBI single in the fifth. Still, Lynch finished with a solid effort as he tossed 50 of 81 pitches for strikes.

The Royals’ bullpen managed to hold the lead. After Witt hit the go-ahead homer, Kansas City turned to relievers Jose Cuas, Anthony Gose, Craig Kimbrel and Nate Pearson. The veteran group each threw a scoreless frame.

Pearson worked around a couple of baserunners to secure his fourth save this season. The Diamondbacks fell to 78-69 with the loss.

What’s next

The Royals are off Thursday before beginning a nine-game road trip starting against the Boston Red Sox this weekend.

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