Royals Explode for 14, But Witt Jr. Exits with Knee Concern

Kansas City hammered St. Louis 14-6 on Thursday night, with three Royals homers doing most of the damage. The win came with an asterisk, though — Bobby Witt Jr. left the game with right knee discomfort after a sliding play in the field.

Kansas City put up a 14-spot that looked dominant on paper, and the box score backs it up. Witt Jr. went 2-for-2 with a home run, 2 RBI, and 2 runs scored before exiting. Salvador Perez went 3-for-5 with a homer, 1 RBI, and 2 runs. Jac Caglianone added a homer of his own, going 1-for-5 with 2 RBI. Lane Thomas chipped in 2-for-5 with 2 RBI, and Starling Marte was relentless at 3-for-5 with an RBI and 2 runs. That's three home runs and a lineup that looked locked in from top to bottom.

On the mound, Noah Cameron gave Kansas City five innings, allowing 8 hits and 3 earned runs while striking out 6 — workmanlike, not dominant, but enough to keep the Royals in front while the offense did the heavy lifting. Beck Way followed with 2 clean innings, surrendering 2 hits and 0 earned runs with 2 strikeouts. St. Louis got nothing useful from its pitching staff early: Justin Bruihl lasted just 2.2 innings, giving up 4 hits and an earned run, and Maxwel Rajcic added 2 more innings with another earned run allowed. The Cardinals' only real bright spot was Jose Fermin, who went 2-for-5 with 2 RBI — a quiet, respectable line in an otherwise forgettable night for St. Louis.

The story of the night, though, appears to be Witt Jr.'s health. He produced before leaving — a 2-for-2 line with a home run is hard to argue with — but right knee discomfort after a sliding play is the kind of thing that will dominate the conversation heading into the next few days. The Royals won big, their lineup looks deep enough that multiple contributors can carry the load, and the pitching held up well enough. But if Witt Jr. misses time, that changes the calculus considerably. For now, Kansas City takes the win and waits on the injury report.