{"id":2350601,"date":"2026-03-29T21:22:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T21:22:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2350601"},"modified":"2026-03-29T21:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T21:22:10","slug":"royals-rotation-delivers-strong-first-series-to-open-2026-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/royals-rotation-delivers-strong-first-series-to-open-2026-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Royals&#8217; Rotation Delivers Strong First Series to Open 2026 Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div q:key=\"QW_8\"><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6a q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>The Kansas City Royals wrapped up their first series of the 2026 season Sunday with a 4-1 win over the Atlanta Braves. Despite dropping their first two games, they head back to Kansas City as they prepare to face the Minnesota Twins in their first home series of the season.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6b q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-0\" class=\"mt-[18px] md:mt-0 mb-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6c\">The Kansas City Royals wrapped up their first series of the 2026 season Sunday with a 4-1 win over the Atlanta Braves. Despite dropping their first two games, they head back to Kansas City as they prepare to face the Minnesota Twins in their first home series of the season.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6d q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>The first two games in Atlanta were frustrating losses for Kansas City, with Saturday&rsquo;s defeat coming in heartbreaking fashion. The Royals held a two-run lead entering the bottom of the ninth inning before falling on a walk-off grand slam by Braves designated hitter Dominic Smith.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6e q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-1\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6f\">The first two games in Atlanta were frustrating losses for Kansas City, with Saturday\u2019s defeat coming in heartbreaking fashion. The Royals held a two-run lead entering the bottom of the ninth inning before falling on a walk-off grand slam by Braves designated hitter Dominic Smith.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6g q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>One thing that stood out for Kansas City in Atlanta was its rotation, which delivered back-to-back strong outings.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6h q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-2\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6i\">One thing that stood out for Kansas City in Atlanta was its rotation, which delivered back-to-back strong outings.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6j q:key=vcaa:\n\n<h2>Royals rotation stands out in opening series<\/h2>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6k q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"inline-text-3\" class=\"scroll-mt-24 my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6l\">Royals rotation stands out in opening series<\/h2>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6m q:key=vcaa:https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_4779,h_2688,x_0,y_234\/images\/ImagnImages\/mmsport\/inside_the_royals\/01kmxnyakf1ga8r3977t--><!--qv q:id=6n q:key=VjqC:mL_1--><!--qv q:id=6o q:key=deAA:7d_2--><!--qv q:s q:sref=6o q:key=--><!--qv q:id=6p q:key=deAA:7d_1--><!--qv q:s q:sref=6p q:key=--><!--qv q:id=6q q:key=cHU9:7d_0--><!--qv q:id=6r q:key=deAA:e2_0--><!--qv q:id=6s q:key=B0c2:SZ_1--><\/p>\n<figure q:key=\"9m_3\" q:id=\"6t\"><!--qv q:s q:sref=6s q:key=--><!--qv q:s q:sref=6r q:key=--><\/p>\n<div class=\"overflow-hidden undefined\" on:qvisible=\"q-B_DLVeX2.js#_hW[0]\" q:id=\"6u\"><picture><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_234,w_4779,h_2688\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kmxnyakf1ga8r3977t.jpg 1x, &#10;    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_234,w_4779,h_2688\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kmxnyakf1ga8r3977t.jpg 2x, &#10;    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_234,w_4779,h_2688\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kmxnyakf1ga8r3977t.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 719px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_234,w_4779,h_2688\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kmxnyakf1ga8r3977t.jpg 1x,&#10;    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_234,w_4779,h_2688\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kmxnyakf1ga8r3977t.jpg 2x, &#10;    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_234,w_4779,h_2688\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kmxnyakf1ga8r3977t.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 1079px)\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_234,w_4779,h_2688\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kmxnyakf1ga8r3977t.jpg 1x,&#10;    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_234,w_4779,h_2688\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kmxnyakf1ga8r3977t.jpg 2x,&#10;    https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,x_0,y_234,w_4779,h_2688\/c_fill,w_1440,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01kmxnyakf1ga8r3977t.jpg 3x\" media=\"(min-width: 1080px)\"><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><\/p>\n<p><figcaption q:id=\"6w\">Mar 28, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Michael Wacha (52) throws against the Atlanta Braves in the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Mady Mertens-Imagn Images | Mady Mertens-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=6x q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Kansas City&rsquo;s starting pitchers left Atlanta with a combined 2.20 ERA, anchored by standout performances from Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, who each worked six scoreless innings.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=6y q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-5\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"6z\">Kansas City\u2019s starting pitchers left Atlanta with a combined 2.20 ERA, anchored by standout performances from Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo, who each worked six scoreless innings.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=70 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Cole Ragans was the outlier, as the Opening Day starter got off to a slow start. In the season opener, Ragans allowed four earned runs on three home runs and four walks over four innings, throwing 90 pitches in a 6-0 loss.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=71 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-6\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"72\">Cole Ragans was the outlier, as the Opening Day starter got off to a slow start. In the season opener, Ragans allowed four earned runs on three home runs and four walks over four innings, throwing 90 pitches in a 6-0 loss.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=73 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>The next day, Michael Wacha delivered a gem for Kansas City, tossing six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. Manager Matt Quatraro pulled him after the sixth inning as his pitch count reached 80.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=74 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-7\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"75\">The next day, Michael Wacha delivered a gem for Kansas City, tossing six scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and one walk. Manager Matt Quatraro pulled him after the sixth inning as his pitch count reached 80.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=76 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Unfortunately for Wacha, he did not earn the win. Closer Carlos Est&eacute;vez entered in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run lead but <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/royals\/onsi\/news\/royals-two-time-all-star-already-facing-demotion-from-closer-job-jackson3\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">allowed six runs<\/a>, capped by a walk-off grand slam by Smith.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=77 q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-8\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"78\">Unfortunately for Wacha, he did not earn the win. Closer Carlos Est\u00e9vez entered in the bottom of the ninth with a two-run lead but <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/royals\/onsi\/news\/royals-two-time-all-star-already-facing-demotion-from-closer-job-jackson3\" rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\">allowed six runs<\/a>, capped by a walk-off grand slam by Smith.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=79 q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Kansas City&rsquo;s win Sunday was led by Seth Lugo and his nine-pitch arsenal. Lugo tossed 6 1\/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and no walks on 77 pitches. With support from the Royals&rsquo; offense, which drove in four runs, and the bullpen, Lugo left Atlanta with the win.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=7a q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-9\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7b\">Kansas City\u2019s win Sunday was led by Seth Lugo and his nine-pitch arsenal. Lugo tossed 6 1\/3 scoreless innings with three strikeouts and no walks on 77 pitches. With support from the Royals\u2019 offense, which drove in four runs, and the bullpen, Lugo left Atlanta with the win.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=7c q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>Wacha and Lugo were bright spots for Kansas City as it opens the season 1-2. With two pitchers yet to make their season debuts, the rotation is already off to a strong start.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=7d q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-10\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7e\">Wacha and Lugo were bright spots for Kansas City as it opens the season 1-2. With two pitchers yet to make their season debuts, the rotation is already off to a strong start.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--qv q:key=QW_6--><!--qv q:id=7f q:key=vcaa:\n\n<p>The Royals head back to Kansas City for their home opener, starting with Kris Bubic on Monday, followed by Noah Cameron&rsquo;s first outing. Cole Ragans will then take the mound, looking to bounce back from his Opening Day loss.<\/p>\n\n--><!--qv q:id=7g q:key=lY4S:mL_1--><\/p>\n<p id=\"inline-text-11\" class=\"my-[18px] [&amp;_a]:text-primary my-f-1.5\" q:key=\"0\" q:id=\"7h\">The Royals head back to Kansas City for their home opener, starting with Kris Bubic on Monday, followed by Noah Cameron\u2019s first outing. Cole Ragans will then take the mound, looking to bounce back from his Opening Day loss.<\/p>\n<p><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><!--\/qv--><\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Kansas City Royals wrapped up their first series of the 2026 season Sunday with a 4-1 win over the Atlanta Braves. Despite dropping their first two games, they head back to Kansas City as they prepare to face the Minnesota Twins in their first home series of the season. The first two games in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2350602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2350601","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Royals-Rotation-Delivers-Strong-First-Series-to-Open-2026-Season.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2350601","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2350601"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2350601\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2350603,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2350601\/revisions\/2350603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2350602"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2350601"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2350601"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2350601"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}