7-7-2025 – By Ethan Smith – @mvp_EtHaN on X
Well, baseball comes at you fast, and for the Pittsburgh Pirates, the game of baseball turned cruel for them on their trip to Seattle.
Pittsburgh has been making some history as of late, on the good side, up until this series versus the Mariners, where the history took a turn for worse, as Pittsburgh managed zero runs versus Seattle after shutting out the Cardinals in all three games of their previous series, a first in MLB history.
Pittsburgh turns its sights to the Kansas City Royals, winners of their weekend series over the Arizona Diamondbacks, capping off the series win with a 4-0 victory on Sunday.
Although the Royals haven’t met the expectations they set for 2025 up to this point, its still a roster that features plenty of talent, from star Bobby Witt Jr. to up-and-coming prospect Jac Caglianone.
Pittsburgh will see Kansas City for the next three days in their second to last series before the All-Star break, so lets take a look at what you should see and expect over the next few days.
7/7
Pirates: LHP Andrew Heaney: 4-7 / 4.16 ERA / 1.20 WHIP / 93.0 IP / 81 H / 71 K / 31 BB / 14 HR
Royals: LHP Noah Cameron: 2-4 / 2.56 ERA / 1.01 WHIP / 56.1 IP / 38 H / 43 K / 19 BB / 6 HR
7/8
Pirates: RHP Mitch Keller: 3-10 / 3.64 ERA / 1.19 WHIP / 106.1 IP / 101 H / 84 K / 26 BB / 7 HR
Royals: RHP Seth Lugo: 6-5 / 2.65 ERA / 1.09 WHIP / 95.0 IP / 74 H / 83 K / 30 BB / 13 HR
7/9
Pirates: LHP Bailey Falter: 6-4 / 3.69 ERA / 1.18 WHIP / 92.2 IP / 77 H / 56 K / 32 BB / 12 HR
Royals: LHP Kris Bubic: 7-6 / 2.36 ERA / 1.15 WHIP / 103.0 IP / 86 H / 107 K / 32 BB / 6 HR
Pirates: Nick Gonzales
Nick Gonzales has been a highly touted young player for the Pirates for some time now, and unfortunately, Gonzales’ 2025 campaign has been cut short a little due to injury, but that hasn’t stopped him from producing.
The 26-year old second baseman has posted a .345/.397/.517 slash with two home runs and eight RBIs over his last 15 games, including a three-hit performance in the opening game of the Pirates series versus Seattle.
Gonzales has also posted an impressive .893 OPS versus left-handed pitching this year, and with two lefties slated to go for the Royals, this could be yet another strong series for Gonzo.
Royals: Bobby Witt Jr.
The Royals offense as a whole has struggled a ton this year, but Bobby Witt Jr. has once again remained a steady force offensively for Kansas City.
The Royals stud shortstop has a .333/.354/.508 slash with two home runs and nine RBIs over his last 15 games, and he’s coming off a series versus Arizona in which he collected five hits and three RBIs, collecting an RBI and a hit in all three contests.
July has already been kind to Witt Jr. as well, as evidence from his 1.004 OPS since the calendar turned.
Anytime the Pirates, or any team, plays the Royals, Witt Jr. is instantly circled as a problem for pitching staffs, and it will surely be no different in this series.
Pirates: Isiah Kiner-Falefa
Popularly labeled one of Pittsburgh’s top trade pieces, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hasn’t had a good stretch offensively, posting a .220/.250/.260 slash over his last 15 games.
Extend that to his past 30, and things don’t change much, as IKF is hitting just .219 in that span, including just one hit in eight at-bats versus the Mariners this past weekend.
The glove will always be a huge component for IKF’s game, but the Buccos could use his bat, and many others, for some juice heading into the All-Star break and trade deadline season.
Royals: Jonathan India
Jonathan India was a major pickup in the offseason for the Royals, but he’s also been a large part of the offensive issues the Royals have dealt with all year.
India enters this series with a .666 OPS on the season and he’s slashing just .232/.348/.321 over his past 15 games. He collected two hits in 10 at-bats in the Royals series win over Arizona, and he could find some luck in this series as his below average production versus right-handers(.647 OPS) may be avoided with Heaney and Falter slated for the Buccos.
Nevertheless, Kansas City was hoping for more from adding India to the offense, but the rewards haven’t been fruitful whatsoever.
Pirates:
Colin Holderman(15-day IL), Ryan Borucki(15-day IL)
Royals:
Hunter Harvey(60-day IL), Daniel Lynch IV(15-day IL), Michael Massey(10-day IL), Blake Mitchell(7-day IL)
Notes
- The Royals defeated the Pirates in their 2024 series two games to one
- Kansas City leads the all-time series 23-22, holding a 13-6 record at home versus Pittsburgh
- Starting pitchers Mitch Keller and Seth Lugo could both be on the move this trade deadline season and both are pitching in this series
- Notable players to play for both Pittsburgh and Kansas City include Amos Otis, Jason Kendall, Jay Bell, Freddie Patek and Lonnie Smith, with 2025 Pirates Adam Frazier and Tommy Pham being the most recent players to play for both franchises
Subscribe to our site, it’s free and all you’ll get from us is a notification when there’s something new to read.
Steel City Pirates 