PITTSBURGH -- The Royals would have won on Saturday night in Carter Jensen's perfect world.
Alas, they suffered a heartbreaking 6-5 loss to the Pirates at PNC Park, as Brandon Lowe hit a game-winning two-run home run off reliever Steven Cruz in the eighth inning.
The Royals lost for the 13th time in their last 18 games and they dropped their sixth consecutive series. They will try to avoid being swept in the three-game set in Sunday’s road finale.
However, Kansas City’s loss didn’t completely dampen the evening for Jensen. The 23-year-old catcher’s 25th home run, a solo shot off fellow rookie Bubba Chandler in the third inning, set the franchise single-season rookie record. Bob Hamelin had previously held the mark since 1994, when he connected 24 times in a strike-shortened season. Hamelin, known as “The Hammer,” won the American League Rookie of the Year Award.
“It means a lot to me,” said Jensen, who’s enjoying a milestone-filled season in the leadoff spot. “There is a lot of hard work that is put into this. I don’t think this is the end of my story. I’d like to think that it’s just the beginning. It’s been a really fun ride, especially to take it with such great teammates and coaches.”
Making Jensen’s accomplishment extra special is that he was born and raised in Kansas City, and he grew up a Royals fan. Jensen was the club’s third-round pick out of Park Hill (Mo.) High School in the 2021 MLB Draft.
“He’s a good player and I’m happy for him and his family,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “That’s an accomplishment that will be there for a long time, I would imagine.”
Left-hander Noah Cameron has also been impressed by his young batterymate and was thrilled to see Jensen make history.
“I’m really happy for him,” Cameron said. “He’s such a great all-around player and he’s a very hard worker. He is such a big part of this team already.”
Cameron gave up four runs in six innings on two-run home runs by Ronny Simon and Jake Mangum, the bottom two hitters in the Pirates’ lineup. It was Simon’s first career homer.
However, the Royals rallied for two runs in the fifth and two in the seventh to pull in front, 5-4.
Yet, on a night when the Royals got 13 hits, including a 4-for-4 effort from Nick Loftin, they went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring positions and left 10 on base.
Then, Cruz gave up the crucial home run to Lowe.
“As we always say, ‘When the game is decided late, all the attention goes to the big hit,’” Quatraro said. “But we had plenty of other chances to score or hold them throughout the game and we didn’t. That’s where the game was lost.”