ATLANTA -- Carter Jensen flashed the kind of power he could bring to this Royals team with his three homers last September in his first taste of the big leagues.
This year, the Royals are expecting much bigger and better things from their rookie catcher and No. 1 prospect, relying on him in the lineup and behind the plate. Jensen, ranked as MLB Pipeline's No. 16 overall prospect, showed why on Sunday, when he sent a fastball over the right-field fence at Truist Park for his first home run of the 2026 season.
It was the first of a few clutch hits the Royals finally saw come their way in their 4-1 win over the Braves, salvaging the opening series with the first win of ‘26 before their opening homestand starting on Monday against the Twins at Kauffman Stadium.
Bobby Witt Jr. got Kansas City on the board in the third with the club’s first hit with runners in scoring position this year, while Vinnie Pasquantino came through in the fifth with a big two-out RBI single.
After being rung up on a backfoot slider from Atlanta starter Grant Holmes in the second inning, Jensen made some adjustments in his second at-bat in the fourth inning, fouling off a low curveball and not chasing the next three pitches outside of the zone. When Holmes had to get back in the strike zone with a 3-1 fastball, Jensen pounced on it -- and drove it a Statcast-projected 371 feet with the ball bouncing off the top of the wall for a home run.
It’s the Royals’ second home run of the season, and both have come from their catching tandem. Salvador Perez gave Kansas City its first run of the 2026 season in the seventh inning Saturday night for his 304th career home run. Jensen’s dinger on Sunday was just his fourth career home run. The Royals will take every single one of them.
Jensen also hit a sacrifice fly in the eighth to add to the Royals’ lead while their pitching staff shut down the Braves. Starter Seth Lugo shoved for 6 1/3 scoreless innings, looking like vintage Lugo with all nine of his pitches, walking none and striking out three.
On the heels of Carlos Estévez’s ninth-inning collapse Saturday, the Royals’ bullpen looked much better on Sunday. Matt Strahm needed just four pitches to record two outs and get Lugo out of the seventh unscathed, John Schreiber allowed a run in the eighth, and Lucas Erceg notched the save in the ninth -- the name we might continue to see in those situations as Estévez works through his command and velocity issues.