Arizona Diamondbacks at Kansas City Royals: Final Score & Recap

The Arizona Diamondbacks escaped Kauffman Stadium with a 5-4 victory over the Kansas City Royals on September 7, 2026, in a game that remained scoreless through nine innings before Arizona erupted for five runs in the tenth. The DiamondIQ model entered the night giving Kansas City a 45 percent win probability, but by the final out that figure had fallen to zero. The pivotal moment nearly swung the other way in the top of the ninth, when Nolan Arenado grounded into a double play off Steven Cruz that erased 38.2 percent of Arizona's win probability and kept the game deadlocked heading into extra innings. Gabriel Moreno partially offset that damage with a single off Cruz that added 20.0 percent win probability, keeping the Diamondbacks' rally alive before the inning ended without a run.

The tenth inning decided everything. Facing Craig Kimbrel, Ildemaro Vargas delivered the game's second-most impactful offensive play, a single that shifted win probability 32.0 percent in Arizona's favor, and Geraldo Perdomo followed with another single worth 29.9 percent, the two hits combining to effectively seize control of the game. Arizona plated five runs in the frame, and Dennis Santana closed it out by striking out Nick Loftin to end Kansas City's final threat, a play that added 19.0 percent win probability to Arizona's ledger. Among position players, Perdomo finished as the game's top performer by WPA at plus 31.4 percent with a RE24 of plus 1.7, while Vargas contributed plus 27.0 percent WPA and Moreno added plus 15.8 percent. On the pitching side, Noah Cameron led all pitchers at plus 31.8 percent WPA, followed by Nate Pearson at plus 18.9 percent and Jose Cabrera at plus 17.2 percent, a trio that collectively preserved the shutout through nine innings and set the stage for Arizona's decisive extra-inning burst.