NEW YORK -- One thing can be said about the Royals¡¯ starting rotation: It has been effective this season, and for 5 2/3 innings, right-hander Michael Wacha kept the Yankees at bay, but he couldn¡¯t get out of the sixth, and it proved costly in a 4-2 loss at Yankee Stadium.
Wacha (0-3, 4.35 ERA) was on his way to having his best start of the season. After five scoreless innings, he had allowed only three singles while protecting a two-run lead. Starting with Jazz Chisholm Jr. to end the first inning, Wacha retired 14 of the next 16 batters he faced.
¡°I felt good on the mound. I felt like we were attacking the zone. The Yankees were aggressive. We were getting some early quick outs,¡± Wacha said. ¡°Guys were making some plays out there for me.¡±
Even the sixth inning was looking like a breeze for Wacha, but then it went out of control. After allowing a single to Aaron Judge, Wacha struck out Cody Bellinger and Paul Goldschmidt. But Wacha left the mound without getting the third out. He walked Chisholm and Anthony Volpe to load the bases.
¡°It was probably one of the best outings I¡¯ve seen from Wacha in a long time,¡± Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. ¡°He was really efficient, had good stuff and a good changeup. He was locating his pitches. He was just out of the zone there a little bit in the sixth. Other than that, it was one of the most efficient outings he has had in a long time.¡±
Wacha was taken out of the game for left-hander Angel Zerpa and disaster struck. Austin Wells drew a four-pitch walk that sent Judge home to cut the lead by one run. Zerpa then followed his own scouting report before facing Jasson Dom¨ªnguez.
¡°Since I was in the bullpen [during Dom¨ªnguez¡¯s previous at-bats], I was paying attention to see what he was swinging at. Fastballs up and in are his weakness and I came in,¡± Zerpa said through interpreter Luis Perez.
It didn¡¯t work out. Dom¨ªnguez cleared the bases with a double.
The loss brought up a wound that hasn¡¯t healed. Kansas City¡¯s offense was silent for the most part. The Royals were able to get to Yankees left-hander Max Fried for two runs in the third -- on a solo homer by MJ Melendez and an RBI double by Bobby Witt Jr. But after the Witt double, Kansas City collected two hits the rest of the way.
Kansas City, however, had a chance to score with less than in the two outs in the fourth against Fried. After Salvador Perez led off with a double, Fried left him stranded by retiring Michael Massey, Hunter Renfroe and Melendez.
¡°We put some pretty good at-bats against Fried, but not enough to string together enough hits for runs,¡± Quatraro said.
The Royals have been struggling for runs. They are tied for 27th in the Major Leagues in runs scored (55) and have scored four runs or fewer in 16 of 18 games, which is last in the Majors. Kansas City is 6-10 when scoring four runs or fewer.
Quatraro believes the Royals will snap out of this slump. This is the same team that went to the postseason in 2024 by finishing near the middle of the pack (13th) in runs scored.
¡°There are too many good players in that room. It¡¯s part of baseball,¡± Quatraro said. ¡°These guys are working their tails off. We are facing really good pitching, and that¡¯s part of the game. We can pitch, too. These games can [turn around] with one swing of the bat. So they have to keep their heads up and keep going.¡±