KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Jac Caglianone returned to the lineup in impressive fashion Tuesday night, going 3-for-3 with two home runs and three RBIs as the Kansas City Royals rallied from an early deficit to defeat the Texas Rangers 5-3.
After missing Kansas City’s previous game with right shoulder soreness, Caglianone delivered the spark the Royals needed. He broke up Texas starter Nathan Eovaldi’s no-hit bid with a towering leadoff home run in the fifth inning that landed in the Royals bullpen beyond right field.
Caglianone struck again in the sixth inning, launching reliever Jalen Beeks’ first-pitch changeup 431 feet into the right-center field seats for a two-run homer that gave Kansas City a 5-2 advantage.
The performance marked the second multi-home run game of Caglianone’s major league career. His first came against the Rangers on June 19, 2025, when he hit the first two home runs of his career.
Kansas City erased a 2-0 deficit with a four-run sixth inning fueled by extra-base hits. Carter Jensen started the rally with a double off the right-field fence before scoring on Maikel Garcia’s one-out triple that tied the game at 2-2.
Garcia later scored on Vinnie Pasquantino’s ground-rule double to center field, giving the Royals their first lead at 3-2. Caglianone’s two-run blast followed shortly afterward to cap the scoring surge.
The Royals finished the sixth inning with five extra-base hits. Caglianone added a single and a stolen base in the eighth inning to complete his perfect night at the plate.
Eovaldi (5-7) cruised through the first four innings despite issuing a walk in each of the opening three frames. He ultimately worked 5 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on four hits—all extra-base hits—while walking three and striking out three.
Kansas City starter Stephen Kolek battled through a difficult outing. The right-hander threw 55 pitches in the first three innings and allowed six baserunners, but escaped several jams. He finished five innings, surrendering two runs, only one of them earned, on eight hits.
Texas scored first in the second inning when Jake Burger delivered an RBI single. The Rangers doubled their lead in the fourth after a pair of Royals throwing errors allowed Evan Carter to circle the bases and score.
The Rangers added their final run in the seventh inning when Joc Pederson tripled and later scored on a Corey Seager groundout.
Josh Jung and Brandon Nimmo each collected two hits for Texas, which finished with nine hits.
Steven Cruz (1-2) earned the victory for Kansas City after retiring all four batters he faced and striking out two. Alex Lange worked a hitless ninth inning, striking out two while recording his fourth save of the season. All four saves have come during the Royals’ last six games.
The victory improved Kansas City’s recent surge, as the Royals have now won five of their last six games.
The Royals did receive an injury scare when center fielder Kyle Isbel exited in the seventh inning with a plantar fascia injury in his left foot.
Kansas City and Texas conclude the series Wednesday night. The Rangers are expected to send left-hander MacKenzie Gore (4-5, 4.23 ERA) to the mound against Royals right-hander Seth Lugo (2-4, 3.91 ERA).
