KANSAS CITY -- Matt Strahm doesn’t have an answer. He feels like he’s making good pitches, but the results tell a different story.
Strahm found himself on the wrong end once again Saturday night, surrendering a two-run home run to Jose Altuve in the eighth inning during the Royals’ eventual 8-7 loss at Kauffman Stadium. The blast pulled the Astros into a 7-7 tie, and following a rain delay that lasted 1 hour and 31 minutes, Houston eventually prevailed on a throwing miscue by Nick Loftin at the back end of a potential double play.
Strahm has now given up a home run in four consecutive appearances, and six of his last eight. Altuve deposited a first-pitch slider 407 feet over the left-field fence.
“I texted my wife immediately when I got in here, I’m sick and tired of this,” Strahm said. “I just can’t. I can’t explain it. I wish I had the answers. If I had the answers, I’d fix it.”
This is a pitcher who allowed five home runs total in 66 games with the Phillies last year. In 2024 with the Phillies, Strahm was an All-Star and allowed just four home runs over 66 appearances.
Strahm said he doesn’t get too caught up in the numbers but clearly knows his track record of late.
“It’s tough because I feel like I’m throwing a lot of strikes, I’m getting a lot of swings, but the ones I do miss, they don’t,” Strahm said. “I feel like I’m succeeding 85% of the time with my execution, but that 15% has just gotten highlighted quite a bit.”
Strahm’s frustration of feeling so close without getting a favorable result is something everyone in the clubhouse can relate to these days. Saturday served as yet another close loss as the Royals now lead the Majors with 25 losses by two runs or less.
Much like Strahm, the long ball hurt starter Noah Cameron. He faced the minimum through three scoreless innings before giving up two-run home runs in the fourth and fifth innings.
Astros first baseman Christian Walker sent Cameron’s 2-2 curveball 394 feet over the left-field fence in the fourth inning before left fielder Brice Matthews hammered Cameron’s 1-0 sinker over the center-field wall in the fifth.
Entering the game, Cameron had allowed just one home run in his previous eight starts combined. But the long ball forced Cameron out after 4 1/3 innings, his shortest outing since May 10 against the Tigers (4 IP). The four earned runs were his most since he gave up four to the Athletics on April 30.
“Two bad pitches, for sure,” Cameron said. “The first three innings were really good. We were rolling there, just two bad pitches that I threw and didn’t execute.”
Defensively, the Royals made a late-game mistake that allowed the Astros to score the go-ahead run in the ninth. Walker bounced into what looked like a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play, but Loftin’s throw sailed wide of first baseman Jac Caglianone.
“It looked like a double-play ball and he just pulled the throw wide,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “That’s what I saw -- pulled the throw wide of the outfield side of the bag.”
To add to the disappointment, it was the second straight game that the offense produced in a way that usually leads to wins. The Royals entered with an 8-2 record when scoring at least seven runs, but have lost consecutive games when reaching that mark against the Astros the past two nights.
Still, the Royals had a chance to extend the game in the bottom of the ninth when Bobby Witt Jr. reached on a one-out double. Isaac Collins followed with a liner to short, but Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña made a leaping catch and doubled off Witt at second to end the game.
It was that kind of night for the Royals. Once again. Saturday was the Royals’ 20th blown-lead loss -- third most in the Majors, trailing only the Twins (22) and Tigers (22). It was also their eighth loss despite leading after the seventh inning, the most in the Majors.
“We’ve got to put a total game together,” Quatraro said. “The days that we’ve hit, they’ve scored against us. The days we haven’t hit, we’ve kept them down. We’ve got to figure out a way to put a full game together in all phases of it. That’s been hard for us to do.”