Royals win finale vs. Braves, setting up AL Wild Card vs. Orioles

ATLANTA — Royals manager Matt Quatraro gathered his team together in the visiting clubhouse at Truist Park following their 4-2 win over the Braves on Sunday afternoon for a quick postgame meeting.

A few items were on the agenda. First: Travel logistics to Baltimore, where the Royals will kick off the 2024 postseason — their first since ‘15 — in a best-of-three Wild Card Series against the Orioles at Camden Yards. Kansas City’s win on Sunday, coupled with the Tigers’ loss to the White Sox, allowed the Royals to clinch the No. 5 seed in the American League and a matchup with the No. 4-seed Orioles. As the No. 6 seed, the Tigers will go to Houston to play the No. 3 seed and AL West champion Astros.

The next item: Acknowledging Bobby Witt Jr.‘s batting title, which he clinched Sunday by going 1-for-4 at the plate and ending the season with a .332 average, nine points better than Vladimir Gurerro Jr.’s .323 mark.

Witt, the 24-year-old superstar shortstop, was more excited to hear about the travel plans to Baltimore than his personal accomplishment, though. Because it means the season is extending to October, and the Royals are playing in the postseason for the first time in Witt’s young career.

“Always cool knowing that we get to travel somewhere after the season ends,” Witt said with a grin. “… The travel is the top priority.”

“That sums up Bobby for you,” said Alec Marsh, who earned the win with five innings of two-run ball (one earned).

Witt tends to shy away from any and all personal accolades, because he is all-in on winning as a team. But we won’t ignore the incredible season Witt just had:

• He played in 161 out of 162 games, and his first off day was not until Saturday, a day after the Royals clinched a postseason berth. Witt played 160 of those games at shortstop, logging 1,384 2/3 innings there.

• Witt’s .332 average ranked first among all qualified hitters in baseball, his .389 on-base percentage ranked sixth, his .588 slugging percentage ranked third, and his .977 OPS ranked fourth. His 211 hits led the Majors.

• He hit 32 home runs, 45 doubles and 11 triples. He drove in 109 runs and scored 125, and he stole 31 bases.

• He became the first shortstop in the history of the Major Leagues to record multiple 30-homer, 30-stolen base seasons.

• Witt’s first career batting title is the Royals’ fifth in franchise history, and he became just the third Royal to lead the Majors in batting average, joining George Brett in 1980 (.390) and Willie Wilson in 1982 (.332).

“It’s special,” Witt said of the batting title. “It’s an honor. Something that always kind of — it wasn’t even really a goal, just more like, ‘If you do this, it’s special.’ You never think as a kid that it would happen. And now it happened, it’s special. I think it goes down to this team, just being able to put me in good situations. That’s all I want to do, try to get on, get the guys in, score runs. It’s been a great year. And we’re just getting started.”

Indeed, the Royals have more baseball to play. The Royals ended the ‘24 season with 86 wins, a 30-win improvement from ‘23, and went from 106 losses last year to the postseason this year.

“It’s starting to settle in a little bit,” Witt said. “At this point in the past two years, you’re thinking about what you’re going to do [in the offseason], this and that. But now you’re locked in, ready to play, and it’s just so exciting. This team deserves it, all the work we put in this year.

Quatraro wanted to make sure he acknowledged the team’s success in the postgame meeting, too, especially after ending the season on a high note. The Royals had to have a lot go right Sunday to clinch the No. 5 seed, but they got out to a fast start with Michael Massey’s three-run homer in the first inning off Braves’ righty Charlie Morton.

Marsh settled in for five innings, and the Royals’ bullpen delivered four scoreless innings to secure the victory. A few glances at the AL scores on the board above the visiting bullpen showed the White Sox lead, and Quatraro went to his high-leverage relievers to close out Sunday’s finale. Kris Bubic earned his first career save.

“Just how proud I am of these guys,” Quatraro said. “They deserve, the way this year has gone, to go out with a win for the regular season and close that chapter of it. But now we start a brand new season.”