The Chicago Cubs shut out the Kansas City Royals 6-0 on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, at Wrigley Field. Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Daniel Palencia (48) and catcher Carson Kelly celebrate after securing a victory by closing out the Kansas City Royals in the ninth inning at Wrigley Field in Chicago on July 22, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

By calling up Rich Hill for Tuesday's showdown with the Chicago Cubs, the Kansas City Royals put the 45-year-old left-hander in position to make history.

The Cubs' Matt Shaw and Carson Kelly went deep off Noah Cameron (4-4) in the second, but the rookie lefthander was in control for most of the first six innings.

THE KELLY FILES: Carson Kelly, last 19 games since June 21: .373/.441/.695 (22-for-59) with seven doubles, four home runs, eight RBI and 10 runs scored. THIS DAY IN CUBS HISTORY: Sammy Sosa’s 13th-inning single scored Ricky Gutierrez with the winning run as the Cubs defeated the Brewers 3-2. It happened 25 years ago today, Saturday, July 22, 2000.

Its Tuesday, July 22 and the Royals (49-52) are in Chicago to take on the Cubs (59-41). Rich Hill is slated to take the mound for Kansas City against Matthew Boyd. Salvador Perez went yard twice last night as the Royals blitzed the Cubs in Game 1 of the series last night,

Kansas City is 25-26 in road games and 49-52 overall. Royals pitchers have a collective 3.50 ERA, which ranks second in MLB play. The teams play Tuesday for the second time this season.

The Kansas City Royals crushed four home runs and took advantage of some excellent batted ball luck to bury the Chicago Cubs 12-4 in Wrigley Field. It was a particularly delightful game, especially in light of the team’s struggles with runners in scoring position and bad luck.