The Kansas City Royals were locked in another close game Tuesday night. They needed their offense and bullpen — two sources of frustration this season — to push them across the finish line.
Both groups did enough. The Royals (8-16) beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-5 at Kauffman Stadium to snap a nine-game losing streak.
Maikel Garcia was the hero. He and Bobby Witt Jr. drew walks in the ninth inning, the score 5-5. They navigated their way around the bases until Garcia scored on a wild pitch from Orioles right-hander Ryan Helsley.
The Orioles dropped to 11-13. Helsley took the loss.
So how did KC get back into the win column? Let’s start with the offense.
The Royals did a better job with runners in scoring position (RISP) while Orioles starter Shane Baz was in the game.
Baz allowed three earned runs. In the second inning, Royals designated hitter Carter Jensen crushed a one-out double. He later scored on a Michael Massey sacrifice fly as the Royals attempted to climb out of an early deficit.
Three innings later, Garcia and Vinnie Pasquantino came through with RBIs of their own. Garcia recorded an RBI single, and added a stolen base later in the frame.
Pasquantino drove Garcia home with a sacrifice fly. This tied the game at 3-3 and gave the Royals much-needed momentum.
Baz ended up lastomg until the seventh. He threw (98 pitches), but the Royals chased him from the game when Kyle Isbel doubled and reached third on a wild pitch. This set the stage for Bobby Witt Jr. to add another sacrifice fly.
This time, the Royals claimed their first lead. The 4-3 advantage set the stage for the KC bullpen to slam the door.
But Royals reliever Matt Strahm ran into trouble in the eighth inning. He allowed a two-run homer to Orioles catcher Adley Rutschman. It was another in a long line of late leads blown by the bullpen.
However, Royals second baseman Michael Massey hit a solo homer of his own in the bottom half. The blast tied the game 5-5 and took Strahm off the hook.
It was Massey’s first homer since Sept. 19, 2025 against the Toronto Blue Jays.
And with Garcia’s heroics, the Royals evened the series at 1-1. Now, the Royals have a chance to win the three-game set outright on Wednesday afternoon.
Kris Bubic spins quality start
Royals left-handed starter Kris Bubic took the Orioles’ best shot on Tuesday night.
In the second inning, Bubic surrendered a three-run homer to Baltimore first baseman Coby Mayo. He grooved a 91.5 mph fastball that traveled 439 feet over the left-field wall.
But Bubic settled in and kept the deficit manageable — while relying on his offense to chip away at the plate.
The Royals lefty relied on his changeup in the start. The pitch generated 19 swings and four whiffs on the night. He used it to keep Baltimore hitters off balance and to pair with his four-seam fastball and breaking pitches.
While he didn’t generate a lot of swing-and-miss, Bubic made the Orioles put the baseball in play and relied on his defense. Bubic gave up three runs on five hits and three walks across his six innings. He struck out three.
What’s next: Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (2-0, 1.00 ERA) will start opposite Orioles righty Chris Bassitt (0-2, 6.19 ERA) in Wednesday’s finale at Kauffman Stadium. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. Central Time.
This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 10:00 PM.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.kansascity.com ’
