The Kansas City Royals continue to fall short of expectations.
On Sunday, they took a new step toward futility.
The Royals lost their sixth straight game, this one 6-3 to the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Kansas City has lost 16 times in its last 19 games, a stretch that began May 10.
In that time, KC has been swept four times including in two straight series.
“We got swept,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said Sunday. “I mean, we didn’t play well enough to win a game.”
The larger stretch of sweeps started with the Chicago White Sox (May 12-14) and continued in KC’s recent homestand. The Boston Red Sox swept the Royals (May 18-20) before the New York Yankees outscored the club 26-4 during their three-game sweep.
In their latest series, the Royals were overmatched by the Rangers. Sunday’s effort featured a lackluster performance from the club in all phases. The offense failed to produce against Rangers starter Jack Leiter and Royals veteran Michael Wacha didn’t have his best command.
“I just think nothing is really going our way,” Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. said. “We’re not playing the game. We’ve just gotta go back to playing baseball. Be ourselves. Sometimes you get unlucky, but it’s part of baseball and you’ve just got to keep chugging along.”
Leiter limited the Royals to three hits. He pitched efficiently behind a six-run lead and never seemed threatened across 5 ⅔ innings. Leiter registered 10 strikeouts and two walks while recording his third victory.
“Just got to take it one day at a time, but we also know things have got to change,” Witt continued. “We’ve got to get better and we’ve got to play better. That’s really about it.”
Jack Leiter #22 of the Texas Rangers looks toward the crowd after being relieved during the sixth inning against the Kansas City Royals at Globe Life Field on May 31, 2026 in Arlington, Texas.
In the fourth inning, the Royals had two runners on base. However, Isaac Collins struck out to end the scoring threat.
“He’s got good stuff,” Quatraro said of Leiter. “I mean, he’s upper 90s and he really trusted his fastball. You know, we got behind in the game. It’s tough when you are trying to work your way back into some counts and make them work. It took us a while to do that.”
The Royals were outscored 22-10 in the series. The club has scored 30 runs in its last 10 games.
Royals’ issues are bigger than the offense
It’s easy to point toward the offense. Yet injuries to the pitching staff continue to be a major theme of the Royals’ struggles.
While Matt Strahm returned Sunday from the injured list, the club is still without Carlos Estévez and Nick Mears. The starting rotation is missing left-handers Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic.
It puts more pressure on the available pitchers. On Saturday, Lucas Erceg blew his fifth save this season. Then Wacha struggled after entering play with a 2.69 ERA.
The Rangers did their damage in the first inning. Wacha issued a two-out walk and the floodgates opened. Ezequiel Duran hit a two-run triple and later scored on Alejandro Osuna’s RBI single.
From there, Kyle Higashoika added an RBI double. The four-run frame put Wacha behind, and he never recovered.
Later, the Rangers manufactured two runs as Josh Jung hit a two-run single.
“Definitely a frustrating one on my end,” Wacha said. “You know, looking back at the first inning, you get two outs and you are one pitch away. And then there are four runs on the board. Those can be frustrating to the pitcher.”
Wacha was charged with six runs in five innings. He walked four batters — including an intentional walk to Joc Pederson — and struck out five batters.
Michael Wacha #52 of the Kansas City Royals pitches against the Texas Rangers during the fourth inning at Globe Life Field on May 31, 2026 in Arlington, Texas.
In the seventh inning, the Royals got on the board. Lane Thomas tallied a pinch-hit RBI single off Rangers reliever Jalen Beeks.
An inning later, Michael Massey hit a two-run homer to cut further into the deficit. It was his fourth homer of the season but came a bit too late.
The Royals dropped to 22-37. They are a season-high 15 games under .500 as the calendar flips to June.
KC finished May dropping 18 of 28 games. The Royals will continue a 10-game road trip by facing the Cincinnati Reds for three games and the Minnesota Twins in a four-game series.
“I think when you try harder, you try and grip the bat tighter,” Massey said. “You try to throw the ball harder, carrying (into) yesterday’s game. Again, it sounds cliché, but you’ve got to show up the next day. In less than 24 hours, we are going to have Chase Burns staring you down and throwing 100 mph. So you’ve just got to find a way to be ready.”
What’s next: Right-hander Luinder Avila (0-2, 5.06 ERA) will start opposite Reds right Chase Burns (7-1, 1.96 ERA) on Monday night at Great American Ball Park. First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m. Central.
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