After a weather delay of more than two hours, Corey Seager wasted no time making an impact, homering and singling to lead the Texas Rangers to a 4-2 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Thursday.
With the win, the Rangers took two of three from the Royals, securing their fourth consecutive series victory. Texas has now won nine of its last 12 games, fighting its way back to the .500 mark (34-34) for the first time since May 1.
Texas jumped out to an early lead against Royals starter Michael Wacha. Brandon Nimmo opened the scoring in the first inning with an RBI double, and Elias Díaz added to the advantage in the second with a perfectly executed squeeze bunt single to make it 2-0.
Leading off the third inning, Seager crushed his ninth home run of the season into the right-field bullpen to give the Rangers a 3-0 cushion.
Kansas City pushed back in the fourth, loading the bases against Rangers starter Kumar Rocker. The Royals managed to bring two runs across the plate—one on a double-play grounder and another on Kameron Misner’s RBI single, marking his first hit in a Royals uniform. However, those two runs would be the only offense Kansas City could muster, as the team ultimately grounded into three double plays on the day.
Rocker exited the game with two outs in the fifth inning after allowing two runs on five hits. The Texas bullpen took over seamlessly, highlighted by Jacob Latz (2-1). Latz locked down the Royals, striking out three across two hitless innings to earn the win as the last of three Rangers relievers.
Evan Carter capped the scoring for Texas, providing a key insurance run with an RBI single in the sixth.
Wacha (4-5) took the loss for Kansas City, surrendering four runs on nine hits over seven innings while walking one and striking out two. The veteran right-hander continues to suffer from a severe lack of run support, having received three or fewer runs in each of his starts this season. The Royals have now dropped six consecutive games in which Wacha has started, losing them by a combined margin of just 10 runs.
A bright spot for Kansas City’s offense was Jac Caglianone, who recorded two of the team’s six hits. Caglianone has been highly productive this month, reaching base safely in 22 of his 36 plate appearances across nine June games.
Game Notes:
Rangers designated hitter Joc Pederson remained out of the lineup after exiting Wednesday’s game with left hip discomfort.
Up Next:
The Royals stay home on Friday to open a series against the Houston Astros. Kansas City will send RHP Luinder Avila (1-2, 4.02 ERA) to the mound against Houston RHP Tatsuya Imai (3-3, 5.24 ERA).
Kansas City Royals Baseball can be heard on Superstar Country 102.5 FM & 1530 AM KQNK in Northwest Kansas and Southwest Nebraska.
