Monday’s loss a microcosm of 2025 season

Hill too steep, hole too deep.

Entering the bottom of the ninth inning on Monday night, the Royals looked cooked. Kansas City pitchers had issued 14 (!) walks to Atlanta hitters and allowed some mammoth home runs. After adding another run in the top frame, Atlanta led 10-4.

Naturally, the Royals then made things interesting before going into the good night. Before making their first out, the Royals loaded the bases, and Freddy Fermin, who replaced an injured Salvador Perez earlier in the game, singled home two runs to put the Royals within a slam.

Adam Frazier followed with a sacrifice fly, and suddenly the Royals were only down three with one on and one out.

But that was it. The Royals never brought the tying run to the plate as both Randal Grichuk (who’d homered earlier in the game) and MJ Melendez (who, it turns out, still sucks) both flew out.

Game over, man.

While the Royals made it interesting, a loss is still a loss. There are no moral victories in the Majors, especially in late July, when every game counts.

Reflecting on the game after it finished, it reminded me of this entire season.

The Royals keep fighting, keep clawing, but just can’t quite get back to .500. After the loss, their record is 52-55. They keep getting to within a game or two of .500, but then fall back, never quite reaching that flat line, let alone surpassing it.

Which means they never quite get close to catching the third Wild Card.

After Monday’s results, the Royals are 4.5 games back of that elusive last spot in the playoffs, but four teams remain ahead of them: Boston, followed by Texas, followed by Tampa Bay, followed by Cleveland. Oh, and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of California of the United States have an identical 52-55 record.

The hole the Royals have dug for themselves is just too deep. They’ll get close, give you hope, make you think, Oh, my gosh, they’re going to do it! They’re going to climb this hill!

And then, nothing. They’ll fall back down the hill, fall back into the hole, and start the whole thing over, like that Sisyphus jabroni. Except while ol’ Sisyphus had to push that rock for eternity, the Royals are going to run out of time and will end up watching the playoffs from the comforts of their own homes.

There’s still time for the Royals, of course. The team isn’t giving up. The front office still believes in 2025, as evidenced by recent trades for Frazier and Grichuk and extending Seth Lugo.

But the hill is too steep, the hole too deep. There are too many teams between where the Royals are now and the third Wild Card. The injuries are piling up. The bottom of the lineup is too bad. The bullpen is too volatile. The rotation is too stitched together.

While the Royals won’t quit on 2025, just like they didn’t quit against Atlanta in game one of their series, it won’t be enough.