PITTSBURGH — The bleeding continues for Kansas City. The Pirates put together another complete performance on Sunday, holding off the Royals 4-3 to close out a three-game sweep that has this early season series feeling less like a coincidence and more like a trend.
Rafael Flores was the difference again. The Pirates catcher piled up 41.0 fantasy points, the best mark by any player on either side, and his fingerprints were all over Pittsburgh's offense from start to finish. Whatever Kansas City tried against him didn't work, and it hasn't worked all series. Flores has been the connective tissue of this Pirates surge, and Sunday was his signature performance.
Kansas City had a chance. Vinnie Pasquantino put together a strong day at the plate, finishing with 30.5 fantasy points, and Michael Wacha gave the Royals innings on the mound worth 25.2 fantasy points. That combination, in a lot of games, is enough to get a win. It wasn't enough here. The Royals managed only three runs, and against a Pirates lineup that has been clicking for a week, three runs simply wasn't going to cut it.
Oneil Cruz kept the pressure on all afternoon. The 27-year-old center fielder posted 26.0 fantasy points, giving Pittsburgh a second explosive threat behind Flores and making life miserable for a Kansas City pitching staff that had no answers. Yohan Ramírez chipped in 21.0 fantasy points out of the bullpen, another arm doing exactly what Pittsburgh has needed from its relief corps during this stretch. When your catcher and center fielder are both producing at that level, and your bullpen is holding, that's how you sweep a series.
The Pirates didn't need to lean on their whole lineup, either. Ryan O'Hearn added 11.0 fantasy points, Wilber Dotel threw up 10.5 out of the bullpen, and Brandon Lowe, Spencer Horwitz and Bryan Reynolds each chipped in 7.5. It wasn't a one-man show. It was a deep, balanced win, which is the scarier proposition for the rest of the National League Central over the coming weeks.
For Kansas City, this one stings in a familiar way. Nick Loftin, Salvador Perez and Jac Caglianone all finished with 13.0 fantasy points apiece, proof that the Royals lineup wasn't dormant. Bobby Witt Jr. added 8.0, John Rave 7.5, and Luke Maile 7.0. There were contributions up and down the order. But three straight losses to the same opponent to open the week is the kind of stretch that forces a team to take a hard look at itself, particularly a pitching staff that has now allowed at least four runs in every game of the series.
Wacha's outing offered a sliver of hope. Getting 25.2 fantasy points from your starter usually buys you a chance to win. The problem was the same one that plagued Kansas City in the first two games: enough runs to make it competitive, not enough to close it out. Pasquantino has been arguably the Royals' most consistent hitter through this brutal stretch, and if there's a building block for Kansas City moving forward, it's that his bat has stayed hot even as the wins have dried up.
For Pittsburgh, the story is entirely different. This is a team finding its footing early, riding a three-game winning streak against Kansas City into a Sunday getaway with real momentum. Flores looks like a foundational piece behind the plate, Cruz continues to be one of the more dynamic players in the league whenever he's locked in, and the pitching staff — from the rotation down through arms like Ramírez and Dotel — has been getting outs when it matters. Sweeping a divisional-caliber week like this early in the season sends a message, even if it's still September and there's a long way to go.
Kansas City will look to regroup and turn the page, but three losses in as many days, the finale a tight defeat on Sunday, is not the start anyone in that clubhouse wanted. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, gets to enjoy the kind of series sweep that can set a tone. If Flores keeps performing like this, and if the bullpen keeps holding leads the way it did Sunday, the Pirates are going to be a tough out all year.
