If the Kansas City Royals plan to halt their five-game losing streak, they must do so without one of their top performers.
The Royals, minus injured star Maikel Garcia, will turn to Michael Wacha for his 300th career start on Sunday afternoon when they face the Texas Rangers in Arlington, Texas.
Following a 9-1 setback in Friday’s series opener, Kansas City overcame a three-run deficit to claim a 6-4 lead entering the ninth inning Saturday. However, Lucas Erceg failed to record an out as Joc Pederson homered, Jake Burger’s third hit tied the contest, and Ezequiel Duran’s RBI single gave the Rangers a walk-off 7-6 victory.
Although the Royals showed their mettle at the plate after totaling five runs in the previous four games, they’ve lost 15 of their last 18.
For Erceg, it was his second blown save this week for a Kansas City bullpen that sports a 9.18 ERA over the past nine games.
“We’re a team. We win as a team, we lose as a team,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said.
As for Garcia, he suffered a right hamstring strain running the bases in the seventh inning Saturday. He will be further evaluated, with more information expected Sunday, according to Quatraro.
“That’s a bad feeling for us,” Quatraro said of the situation surrounding Garcia, who is batting .344 in his last eight games. “It takes a while to figure out how severe it is.”
The Rangers, meanwhile, have 16 runs and 24 hits over the first two games of the series after scoring 23 runs in their previous seven games.
“We’re fighting every single pitch, every single at bat,” Duran told the Rangers Sports Network. “We’re making adjustments every time.”
Wacha (4-2, 2.69 ERA), who will turn 35 on July 1, ranks among the major-league leaders with nine quality starts.
The right-hander is 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA in five starts this month. He allowed two runs over seven innings during the Royals’ 4-3 loss to the New York Yankees on Monday.
“He gives us a great chance to win. He’s incredible,” Quatraro said.
Wacha is 2-1 with a 2.16 ERA in his last three starts vs. Texas, dating to 2024. He is 2-3 with a 3.82 ERA in six career appearances against the Rangers.
Pederson is batting .269 (7-for-26) against Wacha, with a triple, two doubles and two home runs. He’s hit five of his eight homers this season in the last five games.
Sunday’s scheduled Texas starter, Jack Leiter (2-4, 4.75 ERA), has yielded eight runs in 11 innings over the last two starts. Half of those runs came over six innings, along with four hits and three walks, in a 10-7 win over Houston on Tuesday.
The right-hander also hopes to be better than his only two starts vs. Kansas City — both last season. He allowed nine runs and five homers over 9 1/3 innings.
Royals star Salvador Perez is 3-for-3 with two homers against Leiter.
–Field Level Media
