2018 Kansas City Royals season

The 2018 Kansas City Royals season was their 50th season for the franchise, and their 46th at Kauffman Stadium. They significantly failed to improve upon their 80–82 record the previous year, reaching 100+ losses for the first time since 2006 and finishing 58–104, the second-worst record in the 2018 MLB season, ahead of only the Baltimore Orioles, who finished 47–115.

Offseason Transactions

November 2, 2017: 1B Eric Hosmer, 3B Mike Moustakas, RHP Peter Moylan, LHP Jason Vargas, RHP Trevor Cahill, RF Melky Cabrera, CF Lorenzo Cain, and SS Alcides Escobar elected free agency. Activated RHP Nate Karns, LHP Brian Flynn, CF Bubba Starling, and RHP Miguel Almonte from the 60-day disabled list. November 3, 2017: LHP Mike Minor elected free agency. November 20, 2017: Selected the contract of C Meibrys Viloria from Lexington Legends. Selected the contract of LHP Tim Hill from Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Selected the contract of LHP Eric Stout from Omaha Storm Chasers. December 1, 2017: LF Terrance Gore elected free agency. December 2, 2017: Signed free agent LF Terrance Gore to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. December 5, 2017: Signed free agent RHP Wily Peralta. December 7, 2017: Signed free agent RHP Scott Barlow. December 8, 2017: Seattle Mariners claim Mike Morin off waivers. December 14, 2017: New York Mets traded RHP Burch Smith for Future Considerations. Cincinnati Reds traded RHP Brad Keller for Future Considerations. December 15, 2017: Signed free agent RHP Mike Broadway to a minor league contract. Signed free agent DH Cody Asche to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training. January 4, 2018: Chicago White Sox traded 2B Jake Peter to Los Angeles Dodgers; Dodgers traded cash, RHP Joakim Soria and LHP Luis Avilan to White Sox; Dodgers traded SS Erick Mejia and RHP Trevor Oaks to Royals; Royals traded RHP Joakim Soria and LHP Scott Alexander to Dodgers. January 12, 2018: Signed free agent SS Guillermo Fernandez to a minor league contract. January 13, 2018: Signed free agent RHP Luis Barroso to a minor league contract. January 16, 2018: Signed free agent RHP Clayton Mortensen and OF Tyler Collins to minor league contracts. Collins invited to spring training. January 25, 2018: Signed free agent SS Ryan Goins to a minor league contract and invited him to spring training.

Regular season Game log

|-style=background:#fbb |1||March 29|| White Sox || 7–14 || Shields (1–0) || Duffy (0–1)||—|| 36,517 || 0–1 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb |2||March 31|| White Sox || 3–4 || Farquhar (1–0) || Maurer (0–1) || Soria (1) || 37,093 || 0–2 || L2

|-style=background:#bbb |—||April 1|| White Sox || colspan="7" |Postponed (snow) (Rescheduled for April 28) |-style=background:#fbb |3||April 2||@ Tigers || 1–6 || Liriano (1–0) || Hammel (0–1) ||—|| 15,476 || 0–3 || L3 |-style=background:#bfb |4||April 3||@ Tigers ||1–0|| Junis (1–0) || Boyd (0–1) || Herrera (1)|| 15,083 || 1–3 || W1 |-style=background:#bbb |—||April 4||@ Tigers ||colspan="7" |Postponed (weather) (Rescheduled for April 20) |-style=background:#fbb |5||April 6||@ Indians || 2–3 || Carrasco (2–0) || Duffy (0–2) || Allen (2) || 34,720 || 1–4 || L1 |-style=background:#bfb |6||April 7||@ Indians || 1–0|| Kennedy (1–0) || Bauer (0–1) || Herrera (2) || 17,362 || 2–4 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb |7||April 8||@ Indians || 1–3 || Allen (1–0) || Maurer (0–2) ||—|| 14,240 || 2–5 || L1 |-style=background:#bfb |8||April 9|| Mariners || 10–0 ||Junis (2–0) || Gonzales (1–1) ||—|| 12,324 || 3–5 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb |9||April 10|| Mariners || 3–8 || Hernández (2–1) || Skoglund (0–1) ||—|| 14,850 || 3–6 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb |10||April 11|| Mariners || 2–4 || Vincent (1–0) || Grimm (0–1) || Díaz (4) || 14,314 || 3–7 || L2 |-style=background:#fbb |11||April 12|| Angels || 1–7 || Tropeano (1–0) || Kennedy (1–1) ||—|| 14,714 || 3–8 || L3 |-style=background:#fbb |12||April 13|| Angels ||4–5|| Wood (1–0) || Grimm (0–2) || Middleton (3) || 15,011 || 3–9 || L4 |-style=background:#fbb |13||April 14|| Angels || 3–5 || Richards (2–0) || Junis (2–1) || Middleton (4) || 15,876 || 3–10 || L5 |-style=background:#bbb |—||April 15|| Angels || colspan="7" |Postponed (cold) (Rescheduled for June 25) |-style=background:#bbb |—||April 16||@ Blue Jays || colspan="7" |Postponed (Weather related damage to Rogers Centre roof) (Rescheduled for April 17) |-style=background:#fbb |14||April 17||@ Blue Jays || 3–11|| García (2–0) || Skoglund (0–2) ||—|| N/A || 3–11 || L6 |-style=background:#fbb |15||April 17||@ Blue Jays || 4–5(10) || Clippard (2–0) || Flynn (0–1) ||—|| 18,645 || 3–12 || L7 |-style=background:#fbb |16||April 18||@ Blue Jays || 5–15 || Happ (3–1) || Kennedy (1–2) ||—|| 28,803 || 3–13 || L8 |-style=background:#fbb |17||April 20||@ Tigers ||2–3(10) || Jiménez (2–0) || Keller (0–1) ||—|| 15,406 || 3–14 || L9 |-style=background:#bfb |18||April 20||@ Tigers || 3–2 || Junis (3–1) || Greene (1–1) || Herrera (3) || 17,194 || 4–14 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb |19||April 21||@ Tigers ||4–12||Fiers (2–1)|| Duffy (0–3)||Saupold (1)||19,302|| 4–15||L1 |-style=background:#bfb |20||April 22||@ Tigers || 8–5 || McCarthy (1–0) || VerHagen (0–1) || Herrera (4) || 19,034 || 5–15 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb |21||April 24|| Brewers || 2–5 || Davies (2–2) || Kennedy (1–3) ||—|| 16,555 || 5–16 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb |22||April 25|| Brewers || 2–6 || Chacín (2–1) || Hammel (0–2) ||—|| 13,389 || 5–17 || L2 |-style=background:#fbb |23||April 26|| White Sox || 3–6 || Giolito (1–3) || Junis (3–2) || Soria (3) || 18,315 || 5–18 || L3 |-style=background:#fbb |24||April 27|| White Sox || 4–7(11) || Infante (1–3) || Hill (0–1) || Soria (4) || 15,395 || 5–19 || L4 |-style=background:#fbb |25||April 28|| White Sox || 0–8 || Fulmer (2–1) || Oaks (0–1) ||—|| 16,971 || 5–20 || L5 |-style=background:#bfb |26||April 28|| White Sox || 5–2 || Skoglund (1–2) || Covey (0–1) || Herrera (5) || 16,070 || 6–20 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb |27||April 29|| White Sox || 5–4 || McCarthy (2–0) || Rondón (1–1) || Boyer (1) || 23,892 || 7–20 || W2 |-style=background:#fbb |28||April 30||@ Red Sox || 6–10 || Velázquez (4–0) || Hammel (0–3) ||—|| 31,314 || 7–21 || L1

|-style=background:#bfb |29||May 1||@ Red Sox || 7–6 (13)|| Herrera (1–0) || Johnson (1–1) || Flynn (1) || 34,466 || 8–21 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb |30||May 2||@ Red Sox || 4–5 || Pomeranz (1–1) || Duffy (0–4) || Kimbrel (8) || 32,267 || 8–22 || L1 |-style=background:#bfb |31||May 3|| Tigers || 10–6 || McCarthy (3–0) || Bell (0–1) ||—|| 28,866 || 9–22 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb |32||May 4|| Tigers || 4–2 || Boyer (1–0) || Stumpf (1–1) || Herrera (6) || 24,648 || 10–22 || W2 |-style=background:#fbb |33||May 5|| Tigers ||2–3 || Zimmermann (2–0) || Hammel (0–4) || Greene (6) || 20,708 || 10–23 ||L1 |-style=background:#bfb |34||May 6|| Tigers ||4–2 || Junis (4–2) || Boyd (1–3) || Herrera (7) || 18,424 || 11–23 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb |35||May 8||@ Orioles || 15–7 || Duffy (1–4) || Bundy (1–5) ||—|| 10,863 || 12–23 || W2 |-style=background:#fbb |36||May 9||@ Orioles || 3–5 || Bleier (3–0) || McCarthy (3–1) || Brach (4) || 14,375 || 12–24 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb |37||May 10||@ Orioles || 6–11 || Castro (1–1) || Kennedy (1–4) ||—|| 17,842 || 12–25 || L2 |-style=background:#bfb |38||May 11||@ Indians || 10–9 || Keller (1–1) || Miller (1–1) || Herrera (8) || 24,408 || 13–25 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb |39||May 12||@ Indians || 2–6 ||Clevinger (3–0)|| Junis (4–3) |—||24,587||13–26||L1 |-style=background:#fbb |40||May 13||@ Indians || 2–11 || Kluber (6–2)||Duffy (1–5)||—||22,105||13–27||L2 |-style=background:#fbb |41||May 14|| Rays || 1–2 || Yarbrough (3–2) || Skoglund (1–3) || Colomé (7) || 14,174 || 13–28 || L3 |-style=background:#fbb |42||May 15|| Rays || 5–6 || Venters (1–0) || Herrera (1–1) || Colomé (8) || 21,500 || 13–29 || L4 |-style=background:#fbb |43||May 16|| Rays || 3–5 || Andriese (1–1) || Hammel (0–5) || Colomé (9) || 19,611 || 13–30 ||L5 |-style=background:#bfb |44||May 18|| Yankees || 5–2 || Junis (5–3) || Sabathia (2–1) || Herrera (9) || 26,433 || 14–30 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb |45||May 19|| Yankees || 3–8 || Severino (7–1) || Duffy (1–6) ||—|| 33,684 || 14–31 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb |46||May 20|| Yankees || 1–10 || Gray (3–3) || Skoglund (1–4) ||—|| 24,121 || 14–32 || L2 |-style=background:#fbb |47||May 21||@ Cardinals ||0–6 || Mikolas (6–0) || Kennedy (1–5) ||—|| 42,140 || 14–33 || L3 |-style=background:#bfb |48||May 22||@ Cardinals || 5–1 || Hammel (1–5) || Weaver (3–4) ||—|| 39,545 || 15–33 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb |49||May 23||@ Cardinals ||5–2 (10) || Boyer (2–0) || Norris (1–1) || Herrera (10) || 41,984 || 16–33 || W2 |-style=background:#bfb |50||May 24||@ Rangers || 8–2 || Duffy (2–6) || Bibens-Dirkx (0–1) ||—|| 23,230 || 17–33 || W3 |-style=background:#fbb |51||May 25||@ Rangers || 4–8 || Minor (4–3) || Skoglund (1–5) || Kela (11) || 35,105 || 17–34 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb |52||May 26||@ Rangers || 3–4 (10) || Claudio (3–2) || McCarthy (3–2) || — || 29,644 || 17–35 || L2 |-style=background:#bfb |53||May 27||@ Rangers || 5–3 || Hammel (2–5) || Hamels (3–5) || Herrera (11) || 31,898 || 18–35 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb |54||May 28|| Twins || 5–8 || Lynn (3–4) || Junis (5–4) || Rodney (11) || 18,572 || 18–36 || L1 |-style=background:#bfb |55||May 29|| Twins || 2–1 (14) || Barlow (1–0) || Rogers (1–2) ||—|| 20,533 || 19–36 || W1 |-style=background:#bfb |56||May 30|| Twins || 11–8 || McCarthy (4–2) || Romero (2–2) || Herrera (12) || 21,343 ||20–36 || W2

|-style=background:#fbb |57||June 1|| A's || 0–16 || Montas (2–0) || Kennedy (1–6) ||—|| 23,413 || 20–37 || L1 |-style=background:#bfb |58||June 2|| A's || 5–4 || Hill (1–1) || Petit (2–2) || Herrera (13) || 24,553 || 21–37 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb |59||June 3|| A's || 1–5 || Trivino (3–0) || Junis (5–5) ||—|| 19,424 || 21–38 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb |60||June 4||@ Angels || 6–9 || Bedrosian (2–1) || Hill (1–2) || Parker (4) || 32,553 || 21–39 || L2 |-style=background:#fbb |61||June 5||@ Angels || 0–1 || Heaney (3–4) || Keller (1–2) ||—|| 31,514 || 21–40 || L3 |-style=background:#fbb |62||June 6||@ Angels || 3–4 || Bedrosian (3–1) || Barlow (1–1) || Parker (5) || 36,512 || 21–41 || L4 |-style=background:#fbb |63||June 7||@ A's ||1–4|| Blackburn (1–0) || Hammel (2–6) || Treinen (14) || 7,963 || 21–42 || L5 |-style=background:#fbb |64||June 8||@ A's || 2–7 || Montas (3–0) || Junis (5–6) || Trivino (1) || 10,132 || 21–43 || L6 |-style=background:#bfb |65||June 9||@ A's || 2–0 || Duffy (3–6) || Bassitt (0–1) || Herrera (14) || 16,208 || 22–43 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb |66||June 10||@ A's || 2–3 || Treinen (3–1) || Adam (0–1) ||—|| 15,548 || 22–44 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb |67||June 12|| Reds || 1–5 (10) || Hernandez (2–0) || McCarthy (4–3) || — || 20,476 || 22–45 || L2 |-style=background:#fbb |68||June 13|| Reds || 0–7 || Mahle (5–6) || Hammel (2–7) ||—|| 24,899 || 22–46 || L3 |-style=background:#fbb |69||June 15|| Astros || 3–7 || Morton (8–1) || Junis (5–7) ||—|| 27,603 || 22–47 || L4 |-style=background:#fbb |70||June 16|| Astros || 2–10 || Keuchel (4–8) || Duffy (3–7) ||—|| 20,637 || 22–48 || L5 |-style=background:#fbb |71||June 17|| Astros || 4–7 || Sipp (2–0) || Maurer (0–3) || Rondón (4) || 22,236 || 22–49 || L6 |-style=background:#fbb |72||June 18|| Rangers || 3–6 || Colón (4–4) || Kennedy (1–7) || Kela (16) || 18,319 || 22–50 || L7 |-style=background:#fbb |73||June 19|| Rangers || 1–4 || Hamels (4–6) || Hammel (2–8) || Kela (17) || 17,789 || 22–51 || L8 |-style=background:#fbb |74||June 20|| Rangers || 2–3 || Bibens-Dirkx (1–1) || Junis (5–8) || Diekman (2) || 19,489 || 22–52 || L9 |-style=background:#bfb |75||June 22||@ Astros || 1–0 || Grimm (1–2) || Giles (0–2) || Hill (1) || 39,357 || 23–52 || W1 |-style=background:#fbb |76||June 23||@ Astros ||3–4(12)|| McHugh (3–0) || Grimm (1–3) ||—|| 40,028 || 23–53 || L1 |-style=background:#fbb