Royals Sign Justin Topa To Minor League Deal
Topa carries an 8.05 ERA and 2.00 WHIP from his time with Minnesota, unlikely to impact a Kansas City bullpen already averaging 5.35 ERA (Erceg), 5.08 ERA (Cruz), and 5.05 ERA (Avila) across relief arms.
Kansas City Royals vs New York Mets — Jul 9, 2026 | AI Prediction & Stats
Scoreboard
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Royals
|
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Mets
|
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Probable Pitchers
Kansas City Royals — Roster
| Player | Pos | AVG | HR | RBI | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bobby Witt Jr. |
SS | 0.290 | 12 | 38 | 0.394 | 0.462 |
 Carter Jensen |
C | 0.247 | 13 | 48 | 0.292 | 0.438 |
 Isaac Collins |
LF | 0.239 | 4 | 26 | 0.312 | 0.351 |
 Jac Caglianone |
RF | 0.258 | 14 | 33 | 0.360 | 0.455 |
 Lane Thomas |
CF | 0.232 | 6 | 29 | 0.322 | 0.379 |
 Michael Massey |
2B | 0.262 | 7 | 31 | 0.307 | 0.430 |
 Salvador Perez |
C | 0.211 | 11 | 35 | 0.289 | 0.350 |
 Starling Marte |
RF | 0.269 | 1 | 9 | 0.316 | 0.333 |
 Nick Loftin |
3B | 0.247 | 4 | 29 | 0.321 | 0.420 |
 Tyler Tolbert |
2B | 0.396 | 2 | 5 | 0.326 | 0.542 |
 Kameron Misner |
CF | 0.220 | 0 | 4 | 0.209 | 0.244 |
 Josh Rojas |
3B | 0.160 | 1 | 4 | 0.172 | 0.320 |
 Luke Maile |
C | 0.250 | 1 | 3 | 0.310 | 1.000 |
New York Mets — Roster
| Player | Pos | AVG | HR | RBI | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Bo Bichette |
SS | 0.259 | 10 | 50 | 0.330 | 0.383 |
 Brett Baty |
3B | 0.218 | 3 | 28 | 0.303 | 0.306 |
 Carson Benge |
RF | 0.262 | 11 | 36 | 0.352 | 0.408 |
 Luis Torrens |
C | 0.218 | 2 | 18 | 0.271 | 0.321 |
 Mark Vientos |
1B | 0.211 | 11 | 35 | 0.308 | 0.388 |
 Juan Soto |
LF | 0.299 | 20 | 49 | 0.432 | 0.575 |
 A.J. Ewing |
CF | 0.276 | 6 | 23 | 0.348 | 0.431 |
 Eric Wagaman |
1B | 0.214 | 2 | 4 | 0.336 | 0.429 |
 Jared Young |
1B | 0.231 | 6 | 16 | 0.318 | 0.400 |
 Francisco Alvarez |
C | 0.251 | 9 | 20 | 0.336 | 0.426 |
 Francisco Lindor |
SS | 0.210 | 4 | 10 | 0.348 | 0.355 |
 Ronny Mauricio |
SS | 0.180 | 1 | 2 | 0.205 | 0.260 |
 Tyrone Taylor |
CF | 0.207 | 5 | 16 | 0.271 | 0.378 |
Kansas City Royals — News
Mets survive Braves late rally, earn series split behind Soto homer
Soto (.301 AVG, 0.430 OBP, .43 xwOBA) delivered in the ninth but NYM still needed 10th-inning insurance, highlighting inconsistency in a lineup scoring just 369 runs (second-worst in NL East). Weaver (1.90 ERA, 0.26 xwOBA) closed cleanly, but ATL (52-37, +95 run diff) remains the division's clear favorite despite dropping back-to-back games.
Sánchez allows poor outing vs. Royals
One bad start doesn't dent Sánchez's 2.00 ERA and 10-3 record, but PHI's rotation depth is thin—Wheeler (2.36 ERA) and Luzardo (3.75 ERA) are the only other reliable arms with Nola at 5.87 ERA in 18 starts.
Tyler Tolbert goes 5-for-5 with homer in Royals' rout
Tolbert's perfect night masks a .241 AVG season and xwOBA of .316—one game doesn't reverse his trend as a below-replacement hitter in KC's 36-54 lineup.
Rangers passed on Lane Thomas in offseason; Royals signed him to $5.25MM deal
Thomas is hitting .214/.312/.338 (xwOBA .312) in 74 games for Kansas City after the Rangers deemed the contract too expensive. His production aligns with the Royals' 35-54 record and -88 run differential.
New York Mets — News
Mets Activate Jorge Polanco From 60-Day IL
Polanco returns with a .179 AVG and .270 xwOBA across 14 games, offering marginal offensive upside to a Mets lineup scoring 3.5 runs per game (369 RS in 91 games). The move still leaves NYM at 38-53 with a -60 run differential and thin infield depth as Mauricio (.180 AVG, .205 xwOBA) heads to Triple-A.
Mets Designate Guillo Zuñiga For Assignment
Zuñiga appeared in just one game with a 9.00 BB/9 rate, so his departure removes minimal bullpen depth from a NYM unit that has Weaver (1.90 ERA, 0.84 WHIP) and Minter (0.56 ERA in 16 G) anchoring relief. Seelinger's acquisition adds rotation depth behind McLean (3.73 ERA, 118 SO) in a staff where Senga (8.66 ERA, 0-7) has struggled significantly.
Last Night In Baseball: Braves-Mets offensive display, Dodgers reach 60 wins
Dodgers (60-32, +164 run diff) clinched their 60th win while LAD's rotation depth remains elite with Ohtani (1.79 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 95 SO) leading a staff where even the fourth starter Wrobleski carries a 2.80 ERA. Braves (52-37) and Mets (38-53, -60 run diff) combined for a high-scoring series in which Atlanta's lead in NL East run differential (+95 vs Mets' -60) underscores the gap between the division's tier-one and rebuilding teams.
Mets survive Braves late rally, earn series split behind Soto homer
Soto (.301 AVG, 0.430 OBP, .43 xwOBA) delivered in the ninth but NYM still needed 10th-inning insurance, highlighting inconsistency in a lineup scoring just 369 runs (second-worst in NL East). Weaver (1.90 ERA, 0.26 xwOBA) closed cleanly, but ATL (52-37, +95 run diff) remains the division's clear favorite despite dropping back-to-back games.
Tigers Trade Matt Seelinger To Mets
Seelinger's acquisition on a 40-man roster bump gives NYM depth behind McLean (3.73 ERA, 118 SO) and Scott (3.49 ERA), though the Mets remain 23 games under .500 with a -61 run differential.
Season Comparison
Royals
STAT
Mets
38-54
Record
38-54
41.3%
Win %
41.3%
.413
PCT
.413
400
Runs For
381
467
Runs Against
445
92
Games Played
92
W3
Streak
L1
4-6
Last 10
4-6
21-26
Home Record
19-25
17-28
Away Record
19-29
Head to Head
1
0
Jul 7
Royals
16 - 12
Mets
Royals Recent
Jul 7
@ Mets
16-12
W
Jul 6
vs Phillies
1-15
W
Jul 5
vs Phillies
2-5
W
Jul 4
vs Phillies
6-1
L
Jul 2
vs Rays
5-2
L
Mets Recent
Jul 7
vs Royals
16-12
L
Jul 6
@ Braves
7-6
W
Jul 5
@ Braves
10-9
W
Jul 4
@ Braves
3-14
L
Jul 3
@ Braves
3-5
L
