Royals' quiet bats waste Lugo's strong start

KANSAS CITY – A game in which Seth Lugo pitches into the seventh inning and allows two runs (one earned) is not a game in which the Royals want to hand their starter the loss.

But a quiet game offensively led to that happening Thursday night in their 2-0 loss to the White Sox in the series opener of the four-game series at Kauffman Stadium. It was the first time the Royals lost to the White Sox at The K since Sept. 6, 2023, snapping a streak of 14 consecutive wins here. That was the longest such streak in franchise history and matched the fourth-longest streak of its kind by any Major League team in the last 20 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Kansas City lost its third consecutive game and moved to 5-8 on the season. The Royals have scored the ninth-fewest runs in the Majors alongside the Orioles (45) and have scored four or fewer runs in 10 of their 13 games. They’re mired in an 0-for-23 slump with runners in scoring position, including 0-for-7 on Thursday with 11 runners left on base; their last hit in a scoring situation was the fifth inning on Monday in Cleveland.

The Royals have also recorded three consecutive games of double-digit strikeouts, with 14 each in the last two games in Cleveland and 11 on Thursday night.

“I think it’s just frustration,” third baseman Maikel Garcia said. “We work too hard to lose a game 2-0. We prepare ourselves to play a baseball game every single night, and to not score runs is not good for anybody.”

There have been just 13 games played in 2026, but two things can be true at the same time: It can be both early in the season and time for urgency. Players endure two-week slumps all the time, but they’ve also got to fight their way out of it.

“It always hurts,” said first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who committed a throwing error that led to the White Sox second run scoring in the seventh inning. “Always hurts. You try to avoid them as best you can, but sometimes they’re unavoidable. Just got to keep working through it. Last thing you can do is put your head down, slump your shoulders and feel bad for yourself. Because you got to get back out there the next day, and you’re always one swing away.”

No one is feeling that more than Pasquantino and Salvador Perez, the Royals’ Nos. 3 and 4 hitters who have recorded a .485 and .539 OPS this season, respectively. They were 0-for-7 Thursday.

The third inning had the makings of turning this conversation around. Bobby Witt Jr. doubled, putting him on second base with one out. These are the moments in which the Royals have built their offense around, with the belief in Pasquantino and Perez as their main run producers.

It’s not just belief, either: Pasquantino and Perez both drove in at least 100 runs last year. The third and fourth spots in the Royals’ order combined for a .744 OPS last season, tied for 20th in MLB.

So far this year? The combined .532 OPS ranks 29th in the league, ahead of Seattle’s .324 OPS from the heart of its order.

But in this moment, Pasquantino struck out swinging on three pitches against White Sox starter Anthony Kay. First a sweeper away, next a low fastball inside, the third a high and tight fastball.

“He did a good job of mixing both fastballs,” Pasquantino said. “You’re trying to protect from both the sink and the ride. … I was just trying to match the plane tonight, and I was wrong.”

Perez popped out on the first pitch he saw.

“Salvy got a couple of balls off the end,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “He didn’t square anything up tonight. But I think he’s seeing the ball fine. He goes through some of these ups and downs.”

In the seventh, with Witt on first and leadoff hitter Garcia on second with two outs, Pasquantino hit a ball 105 mph, but it was a groundout. Hard-hit balls are one of the reasons the Royals believe their offense is on the verge of awakening; entering Thursday, they led the Majors in average exit velocity (91 mph) and ranked seventh with a 43% hard-hit rate.

“I’m not proud of those at-bats because of the results of them,” Pasquantino said. “But the process is there. If I’m any good at this, I got to trust myself. … At the end of the day, if I hit that ball 70 and it’s a hit, I’m happier with it. And all the fans are too, and all my teammates are. Just got to be better in those situations and come through.”