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Kansas City Royals starter Michael Wacha turned in a vintage performance on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n
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And he did something even Royals manager Matt Quatraro hadn\u2019t seen before.<\/p>\n
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Wacha began the game with 17 consecutive strikes. He pounded the strike zone with primarily his four-seam fastball, changeup and sinker. The White Sox chased throughout the game: Wacha recorded 44 swings and 15 whiffs, per Statcast.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI was not aware that it was that many,\u201d Quatraro said. \u201cI knew he as in the (strike) zone a lot. So I don\u2019t know if I had seen that before or not. But it\u2019s highly unlikely.\u201d<\/p>\n
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With Wacha\u2019s performance and the help of Maikel Garcia on offense, the Royals earned a 2-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox at Kauffman Stadium on Saturday.<\/p>\n
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Garcia scored twice, the first time on his leadoff home run in the first inning and then, after his double, on Vinnie Pasquantino\u2019s sacrifice fly in the eighth.<\/p>\n
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It was the club\u2019s second shutout in as many days.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe played well enough as a team to win two days in a row,\u201d Quatraro said. \u201cWe know, you\u2019re not going to sustain long winning streaks scoring two runs. But some days, you are going to win 9-8 and that\u2019s fine, too. And we need to do all those things.\u201d<\/p>\n
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The White Sox (5-10) ran into more good pitching as Wacha turned in another dominant performance. He recorded eight scoreless innings, matching Kris Bubic\u2019s shoutout start on Friday night.<\/p>\n
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\u201cYou got to make pitches against them,\u201d Wacha said. \u201cAnd you know, watching (Bubic\u2019s) start and watching (Seth) Lugo\u2019s start, you know, they executed. They made pitches to where they wanted it to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Chicago finished with four hits in the game (as did the Royals). Meanwhile, Garcia changed the game with one swing.<\/p>\n
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In the first inning, Garcia belted a solo homer over the left-field wall. He got a 93.9 mph sinker down the middle of the plate.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI was trying to do damage in my first at-bat, and that\u2019s what I did today,\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n
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The baseball left his bat in mere seconds. As Garcia trotted around the bases, the Royals celebrated him from the home dugout. It was his third career leadoff homer and first since March 28, 2024, against the Minnesota Twins.<\/p>\n
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And Wacha made sure to keep the White Sox off the scoreboard.<\/p>\n
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White Sox sluggers Andrew Benintendi and Lenyn Sosa each recorded doubles. However, Wacha avoided further trouble and kept his pitch count low, which allowed him to march through eight innings of shutout baseball.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI knew, kind of going into it, the stuff was moving good,\u201d Wacha said. \u201cYou know, I had some good command. Had a good game plan going into hit, me and Sal (Salvador Perez). And you know, he was pressing the right buttons.\u201d<\/p>\n
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As a result, Wacha entered the eighth inning at 80 pitches.<\/p>\n
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He retired Tanner Murray, Reese McGuire and Chase Meidroth in order to preserve a one-run lead. Wacha struck out Meidroth and received a loud ovation from the 16,214 fans in attendance when he walked off the field.<\/p>\n
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Since joining the Royals, Wacha has posted a quality start in seven games against the White Sox. He now leads the majors with a 0.43 ERA this season.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe efficiency is what was impressive about it,\u201d Quatraro said. \u201cI mean, he was in control the whole time. He had the curveball and changeup, obviously, and he was getting the fastball to the spots he wanted. He was ahead of everybody. So that was a master class right there.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Royals closer Lucas Erceg took over in the ninth. He picked up his fifth save as the club secured at least a split in the four-game series.<\/p>\n
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\u201cWe have to get another one tomorrow,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cWe don\u2019t want to get two and two (a series split).\u201d<\/p>\n
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What\u2019s next:<\/b> Royals left-hander Noah Cameron will start Sunday\u2019s series finale at Kauffman Stadium. Chicago will use right-hander Grant Taylor as an opener. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. Central Time.<\/p>\n
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This story was originally published April 11, 2026 at 5:50 PM.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n