Royals found some rhythm in 6-3 win at Rangers. Here’s why KC could keep it going
During his team’s most recent homestand, Kansas City Royals manager Matt Quatraro pondered aloud the state of KC’s offense.
The Royals had struggled to score with runners in scoring position. And there were too many instances of guys left stranded on the basepaths.
“We need a three-run double or three-run homer to take the pressure off getting three or four hits in an inning to score,” Quatraro said then.
Well, the manager got his wish on Wednesday. In the third inning at Globe Life Field, Maikel Garcia blasted a three-run homer off Rangers starter Patrick Corbin as the Royals won 6-3 — their second straight victory after six straight home losses.
Maikel Garcia lifted a 90.8 mph sinker over the left-center field wall. It was his eighth home run of the season and a certified big hit.
Garcia’s homer erased a two-run deficit created by left-handed starter Kris Bubic. It also capped a four-run frame, a rarity in recent games.
Garcia, who finished the evening 3-for-4, is now batting .318 with a career-high eight homers and 36 RBIs this season.
“Honestly, I was looking for a ground ball through the middle,” Garcia said. “Just wanted to put a ball through the middle and bring (Jonathan) India to home plate. Thank God I hit a homer. ... That’s great and good.”
The Royals (36-38) have relied on home runs in this series. Salvador Perez hit two Tuesday and Bobby Witt Jr. added one, too. That sort of power was missing during the Royals’ stagnant stretches this season.
The last two games have been different. The Royals have extended leads and climbed back into games with one swing.
“The three-run homer, if I’m not mistaken, is our first since opening day, which is huge,” Quatraro said. “And the triple to expand the lead there. I mean, what do you say? Those are huge plays in the game and something we have become accustomed to him (Garcia) doing for us.”
Now, the Royals are in a position to earn a series sweep. Their last road sweep was April 29-May 1 against the Tampa Bay Rays at George Steinbrenner Field.
Kris Bubic holds lead
The Rangers came out swinging. Leadoff hitter Sam Haggerty tripled to begin the game and Wyatt Langford recorded an RBI double.
Two batters later, Adolis Garcia hit an RBI single to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead.
Bubic, who entered with a 1.92 ERA, needed to keep the game close and answered that challenge throughout the rest of his start. He worked 5 1/3 innings with six strikeouts en route to his sixth victory of the year.
“When you pitch with a lead like that, you want to do everything you can to keep it there,” Bubic said. “It wasn’t pretty at times, but I tried to get ahead in the counts, which I thought we did a better job today.”
The Rangers had nine hits, but Bubic was able to escape most of the trouble he encountered. In the fifth inning, he worked around Adolis Garcia’s double to strike out Josh Jung and preserve a one-run advantage.
“I navigated through a good amount of traffic there,” Bubic said. “I mean, tagging me early with those couple of runs.
“There were some pitches that I didn’t execute and that they put good swings on. ... Once I got the changeup going a little bit, that kind of helped me put guys away a little bit better with two strikes.”
The Royals held a 4-3 lead into the eighth inning. Then, Maikel Garcia hit an RBI triple — he finished a double shy of the cycle — to pad KC’s lead.
From there, the bullpen did its job — Steven Cruz and then closer Carlos Estévez came in and shut the door. Estévez picked up his 20th save.
Lucas Erceg escapes trouble
The Royals nearly lost their lead in the seventh inning.
Top reliever Lucas Erceg found himself in a tough spot: He allowed a leadoff double to Langford and a single to second baseman Marcus Semien a few batters later.
Then, after throwing a pitch, Erceg appeared to experience some discomfort. The awkward moment stirred some concern, as he’d recently dealt with a lower-back strain.
“He slipped,” Quatraro said. “I just wanted to make sure his back was feeling alright after what he went through last week.”
Langford represented the tying run at third base. After a quick check by the Royals’ trainers, Erceg remained in the game and got Adolis Garcia to hit into a 6-4-3 double play.
“The more I go through those, ‘Oh no, here we go again moments,’ and kind of flip that mindset, it obviously helps,” Erceg said of his resolve to remain composed. “I create that success, so moving forward it’s going to be the same thing.”
Erceg now has 13 holds this season.
What’s next: The Royals conclude their three-game series against the Rangers on Thursday afternoon. Right-hander Michael Wacha (3-6, 3.38 ERA) will make the start. The Rangers will start right-hander Shawn Armstrong.
This story was originally published June 18, 2025 at 10:07 PM.
