If you bought stock in Kansas City Royals standout Jac Caglianone, you would be in line for a massive payout right now.
On Tuesday, Caglianone turned Tropicana Field into his personal playground. And it’s fitting considering the Tampa, Florida, native grew up going to Rays games as a kid.
Caglianone stamped his homecoming in a powerful way. He belted two home runs — both off Rays left-handed starter Shane McClanahan — as the Royals earned an 12-5 victory.
In the first inning, Caglianone crushed a hanging 88.7 mph slider over the right-field wall. The baseball traveled 443 feet and hit off the outfield scoreboard.
It was his 13th homer of the season. And Caglianone wasn’t done wreaking havoc at the plate.
After striking out in the fourth inning, Caglianone got a measure of revenge with a two-run homer over the center-field wall. This time, he hit a 96.8 mph fastball that was left over the plate.
Caglianone circled the bases for the sixth time in his last five games. In June, he has 10 multi-hit games and six games with multiple RBIs.
The Royals (34-46) did their damage in four innings. KC third baseman Nick Loftin joined Caglianone with a solo homer in the first. It was the third time the Royals hit consecutive homers this season.
Tyler Tolbert also manufactured a run. He laid down a sacrifice bunt that McClanahan threw wildly into the Rays bullpen on the right-field line. This allowed Royals second baseman Michael Massey — who began the frame with a double — to score.
Tolbert wound up at third base and scored on Loftin’s two-out RBI single. That set the stage for Caglianone to extend the Royals’ lead to five runs.
The Rays (43-33) continued to struggle against Royals pitching. KC starter Luinder Avila surrendered one run in five innings to earn his third victory.
However, it wasn’t an efficient start. Avila struggled with his command as he issued four walks and hit a batter. He dodged trouble all game and made key pitches as needed to preserve a slim lead.
A prime example was in the second inning. Avila walked two batters before retiring Rays shortstop Taylor Walls on a flyout. From there, he struck out Tampa catcher Hunter Feduccia and designated hitter Yandy Diaz to end the inning.
The Royals defense also provided an assist. Royals catcher Salvador Perez threw out Rays second baseman Richie Palacios who was trying to steal second base. And Tolbert began a critical 6-3 double play to retire Junior Caminero.
Despite a few misplays underneath the Tropicana Field canopy, the Royals found a way to hold off the Rays for their fifth win in six games.
Loftin accounted for four hits, while the Royals broke it open with five additional runs in the eighth. Perez added a two-run double, and Kameron Misner added another RBI double in the frame.
The Rays scored three runs in the ninth inning off Royals reliever Connor Seabold.
The Royals will look to win the series outright on Wednesday. In June, the club owns a 12-9 record while averaging 5.6 runs per game.
What’s next: Royals left-hander Noah Cameron (4-4, 4.20 ERA) will start against Rays right-hander Griffin Jax (2-5, 3.67 ERA) Wednesday at Tropicana Field. First pitch is set for 5:40 p.m. Central.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.kansascity.com ’
