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The Kansas City Royals find themselves in a tight American League wild-card race<\/a> as the calendar flips to September.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the final month of the 2025 regular season, and the Royals have work to do. If the Royals are to return to the postseason, they need to leapfrog both the Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n They also need to take care of business against the teams further behind in the standings. On Tuesday, the Royals fell short 5-1 against the Los Angeles Angels at Kauffman Stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a gut punch for sure,\u201d Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. \u201cYou come into this game and you need it. You\u2019ve got 24 (games) left and you want 24 of them. … And tonight just wasn\u2019t good enough, and we\u2019ve got to find a way to respond.\u201d<\/p>\n The Angels (65-73) strung together four runs in the middle innings. Designated hitter Jo Adell hit a 454-foot homer off Royals starter Michael Lorenzen. It was his 32nd home run as the Angels claimed the lead.<\/p>\n An inning later, Royals reliever John Schreiber allowed consecutive doubles and hurled a wild pitch as Los Angeles extended the lead.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cI hadn\u2019t thrown a curveball all night,\u201d Lorenzen said. \u201cSo, you hope you are saving that. Having it in the back pocket, maybe sitting soft there. And I just gave him what he was looking for speed-wise, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n The Royals (70-68) recorded just four hits. They struggled against Angels left-handed starter Mitch Farris, who made his MLB debut.<\/p>\n Farris allowed one run in five innings. Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. did the lone damage on the night. Witt hit a triple and later scored in the third inning. It was one of two highlight plays from Witt<\/a> in the game \u2014 more on that in a second.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had us tied up a little bit,\u201d Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. \u201cI mean, good off-speed stuff \u2014 changeup, specifically \u2014 and he elevated his fastball when he needed to.\u201d<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Royals have lost three of four during their homestand. The offense continues to be inconsistent and it\u2019s proved costly. KC finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base.<\/p>\n \u201cYou guys know, the goal is to win series,\u201d Pasquantino said. \u201cWe still have an opportunity to do that, but we\u2019ve got to take care of business tomorrow. We\u2019ve got to show up ready to play. And we will. We will regroup tonight, get some sleep and get back here ready to play tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n On Tuesday, Witt showed why he has a Gold Glove in his collection<\/a>.<\/p>\nBobby Witt Jr. shines with defensive gem<\/h2>\n