Maikel Garcia Sends Message After Royals Delay White Sox Clinch

Third baseman Maikel Garcia had one hit in 18 at-bats since coming off the injured list, but he found his swing on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Garcia went 3-for-3 with three RBI, and the Kansas City Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 5-4 to keep them from clinching a playoff spot for at least one more day.

It showed what a healthy Garcia can do.

Kansas City jumped on Chicago in the first inning.

Catcher Carter Jensen and shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. opened with singles, right fielder Jac Caglianone moved Witt to second with a groundout, and Garcia singled to right to drive in two runs.

First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino followed with an RBI double, and second baseman Michael Massey's single plus a throwing error made it 4-0.

Chicago tied it with four runs in the third, capped by an RBI double from first baseman Munetaka Murakami, and starter Seth Lugo left in the fourth.

From there, the bullpen took over, as relievers Anthony Gose, Connor Thomas, Lucas Erceg and Steven Cruz combined for 5.2 scoreless innings, and in the seventh, Garcia doubled to left to score Witt with the go-ahead run.

Manager Matt Quatraro said after the game that his relievers came in with the game tied and never bent.

This has been a rough year for Garcia.

He went on the injured list in June with a left hand muscle strain and again in August with a left hamstring strain, and he has played in just 80 games, hitting .263 with three home runs and 38 RBI.

That is a big drop from 2025, when he hit .286 in 160 games, made the All-Star team and won a Gold Glove.

Garcia said this team is not going to hit a lot of home runs, so it has to play small ball.

That is what happened in the first inning, and it fits this roster, especially with Jensen having a season that has already made team history.

He also talked about how he wants the season to end.

"It's not fun playing when you're not in the playoffs. So we're just trying to play to finish this season strong as a team and focus on next year," Garcia said after the game, per the Kansas City Star.

The Royals are 68-90, but these games still matter.

Chicago needed a win and a Texas loss on Wednesday to clinch, according to the Star, and the Rangers did lose, so this Kansas City win is what kept the White Sox waiting.

Chicago is 81-77, one game behind first-place Cleveland in the American League Central, and holds the third wild card spot, three games ahead of Texas.

The bullpen work also stood out after a messy 14-11 loss on Tuesday, and Erceg, who rejoined the bullpen earlier this month, is making a case for 2027.

Starter Randy Dobnak takes the mound in Thursday afternoon's series finale against Chicago, and then Cleveland comes to Kauffman Stadium for the final three games of the season starting Friday.

Garcia has four games left, and a few more nights like this would send him into winter on a high note.