BALTIMORE, MD. – The Kansas City Royals continued their torrid stretch Saturday night, powering their way to a 4-0 victory over the Baltimore Orioles despite an early rain delay. Solo home runs from Cavan Biggio, Kyle Isbel, and Vinnie Pasquantino provided all the offense needed as the Royals notched their tenth win in their last twelve games.
The game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards was halted for 57 minutes due to a thunderstorm after the first inning, but both starting pitchers, Kris Bubic for the Royals and Tomoyuki Sugano for the Orioles, remained in the contest. Bubic (3-2) battled through five innings, allowing four hits before handing the ball to a strong Royals bullpen.
Kansas City broke the scoreless tie in the fourth inning when Jonathan India led off with a double and later scored on a two-out single by Maikel Garcia. Biggio then extended the lead in the following frame with his first home run of the season. Isbel and Pasquantino added insurance in the eighth, each launching solo shots off Orioles reliever Seranthony DomĂnguez.
Garcia paced the Royals’ offense with three hits, matching the effort of Baltimore’s Gunnar Henderson. However, the Orioles’ bats struggled to generate runs, with their only runner reaching scoring position in the first inning. Bubic shut down that threat, striking out Ryan Mountcastle and retiring Ryan O’Hearn to end the frame.
The loss highlighted the Orioles’ struggles against left-handed pitching, as they fell to 2-9 in such matchups this season. Their .174 batting average against southpaws, the worst in the major leagues, saw a slight improvement as they went 5-for-25 against Bubic and reliever Daniel Lynch IV, who worked two scoreless innings.
The series concludes Sunday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, with Baltimore’s Kyle Gibson (0-1) scheduled to face Kansas City’s Michael Lorenzen (3-3). Pregame coverage will begin at noon on SuperStar Country 102.5 FM & 1530 AM KQNK, with the first pitch set for 12:35 pm CDT. The Royals have now recorded four shutouts in their last eight games, showcasing their strong pitching staff.
