KANSAS CITY -- Bobby Witt Jr. had a memorable 26th birthday Sunday.
He scored the game’s first run, made an outstanding diving catch and even stole his MLB-leading 25th and 26th bases in the Royals’ 4-0 victory over the Astros at Kauffman Stadium.
“That’s all I wanted for my birthday -- was a win,” Witt said, smiling. “And we got it, so it’s good.”
Witt wasn’t alone in having a big game on his big day. Right-hander Stephen Kolek was at his best, tossing 7 1/3 scoreless innings while Maikel Garcia drove in three runs to match his season high.
The victory closed a frustrating homestand on a positive note. The Royals went 2-4, losing series to the Rangers and Astros, but Kansas City avoided being swept on Sunday.
“We’ve lost these games recently and that’s been really frustrating, but these guys are competing their butts off,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “Every one of these games on this homestand was a tough game one way or the other. The ones we came out on top of, obviously we feel better about the result. But the way these guys are competing and the attitude they’re taking out there, I’m proud of them for that. The fact that they put that total game together today was really impressive.”
Witt got it started by reaching on a one-out single in the first inning. He stole second base before scoring on an RBI single from Garcia. The Royals extended their lead to 4-0 with three runs in the third, highlighted by Garcia’s two-run double off Astros starter Spencer Arrighetti. Jac Caglianone, who started at first base in Vinnie Pasquantino’s absence, also notched an RBI single.
The Royals finished with four stolen bases (two by Witt, one by Garcia and one by Kameron Misner), matching their season high. Kansas City now leads the Majors with 16 stolen bases this month.
“That’s Royals baseball. That’s what they teach us in the Minor Leagues,” Garcia said. “We play the small game. We have to go out there and have our identity -- that’s our game, run the bases.”
That offensive approach was more than enough to allow Kolek to settle in. The 29-year-old retired 11 of 12 batters he faced in the middle innings, and worked out of a seventh-inning jam by starting a double play with runners on first and second. Kolek ran into trouble again in the eighth, exiting with two on and one out, but reliever Steven Cruz ended the threat by striking out pinch-hitter Taylor Trammell and getting Jeremy Peña to ground out.
Kolek has pitched a quality start in five of his eight outings this season, including a shutout on May 23, and lowered his ERA to 2.68 after another strong outing in the finale.
“I finally felt like I was getting back to myself there,” Kolek said. “I filled up the zone with a lot of different pitches and located the fastballs well enough to challenge them in any count in any situation, so I just pounded the zone with all of my stuff.”
Kolek provided the Royals with not only impressive innings, but much-needed outings with starters Seth Lugo, Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic on the injured list. The bullpen received a much-needed break, too, as Kolek delivered the team’s first quality start in six games. In the first two games against the Astros, the bullpen had to cover 13 innings combined.
“Guys have been battling lately, so for me to go out there and pick up as many innings as I did, it was great for them and ultimately great to get a win,” Kolek said. “We’re going to try to keep it going.”
Kolek, Cruz and Daniel Lynch IV, who recorded the final three outs, combined for the Royals’ fifth shutout victory of the season.
It made for a festive mood in the clubhouse as the team prepared to travel to face the Nationals in Washington on Monday.
As Witt said, “Happy flight going out to D.C.”