The Kansas City Royals have a clear winning formula.
Much is predicated on their starting rotation, which remains near-flawless this season, and their stagnant offense being able to scratch across a few runs. The formula has worked for most of the 2025 campaign.
For a while, it was on full display against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park. However, the Royals couldn’t put away the Astros in the late innings on consecutive nights.
On Wednesday, the Royals (25-20) fell 4-3 in the series finale.
Royals starters Michael Wacha, Kris Bubic and Michael Lorenzen were sharp in their outings.
The trio allowed seven earned runs in 20 innings. Bubic continued to make a case for an All-Star nomination in Tuesday’s pitcher duel with Astros star Framber Valdez. This season, Bubic ranks fifth in the majors with a 1.66 ERA.
“We are playing good ball,” Lorenzen said. “You know, our pitching is doing great and we are playing good defense. Every game is like a war and we are getting battle tested for sure. So we will take that.”
Offensively, the Royals scored in spurts. KC logged seven runs in Monday’s game but was shut out after the third inning. Valdez limited KC to one run — a Freddy Fermin RBI single — and the club scored three times against Astros rookie Colton Gordon.
The consecutive losses sting. The Royals now sit 4 1/2 games behind the Detroit Tigers in the American League Central.
“They are tough losses,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “I mean, we come in and have a game and get off to a good start. Then these last two are one-run games. We play a lot of close games and we have to figure out how to be one run better.”
The Royals took advantage of Gordon making his first MLB start. A few timely hits gave Lorenzen an early cushion on the scoreboard.
Maikel Garcia powered the offense on Wednesday. He hit a solo home run in the second inning and added an RBI double that bounced off the second-base bag.
