Three Royals homer as KC wins 4th straight and narrows gap in AL Wild Card race
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Royals beat Rangers 4-3, extend streak to four and tighten AL Wild Card race.
- Kansas City now leads Texas by 2.5 games, trails Yankees by 3.5 for Wild Card.
- Esteves earns league-best 32nd save; Wacha allows two runs over 5⅔ innings.
The Kansas City Royals just keep on winning.
Hot since the All-Star break, the Royals on Monday evening defeated the Rangers 4-3 to open a four-game series against Texas at Kauffman Stadium.
KC’s winning streak is now at four games and the team is 6-1 on its current homestand.
“You hope you can keep stacking them together,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of this run of victories. ”We know we need to do that this time of year.
“You can’t win more than one game a day. That’s where you’ve got to refocus. Take some time to enjoy it for sure — it’s hard to win these games. It’s hard to win in the big leagues. You’ve got to enjoy it, but the process starts over.
The Royals (64-61) enter Tuesday’s second game of the series 2 1/2 games ahead of the Rangers (62-64). Both are chasing the New York Yankees (67-57) for the third and final AL Wild Card spot in the Major League Baseball playoffs.
The Royals, who made it to the postseason last fall, gained some ground on the Yankees with Monday’s outcome and are now just 3 1/2 games behind New York.
Home runs lead way for Royals
The Royals started the scoring as early as possible when leadoff hitter Mike Yastrezemski belted a shot over the center field wall.
It was Kansas City newcomer Yastrezemski’s third leadoff home run of the month. Dealt from the San Francisco Giants to KC at the MLB trade deadline, he’s now tied with Johnny Damon (September 1998) and Alex Gordon (August 2012) for most leadoff home runs in a month in Royals history.
The Rangers responded with a run of their own in the top of the second, but the Royals bounced right back in the third. Vinnie Pasquantino belted a two-run homer — his 23rd of the year — to right field, driving in Bobby Witt Jr.
The Royals never trailed in this game, but the situation became interesting atop the eighth. With Rangers on second and third and just one out, KC relief pitcher Lucas Erceg managed to escape with just one earned run allowed.
That narrowed the Royals’ lead to one, at 4-3, but the home team hung on and closer Carlos Estevez picked up a personal-milestone save (more about that in a moment).
Here are some other notable aspects of Monday evening’s game:
Wacha maintains his composure
It wasn’t the best outing of Michael Wacha’s big-league career, but the veteran right-handed starter pitched well enough for a win that kept alive his streak of allowing two earned runs or fewer in recent starts.
Wacha (7-9) pitched 5 2/3 innings, allowing two earned runs with three strikeouts. He surrendered a season-high nine hits but no walks. He gave up his first five hits in the first two innings but then allowed just one more run all night.
Wacha explained his thought process in escaping such jams.
“(I just) think back to the game plan,” he said, “in how to attack whoever is in the box and really bearing down and executing.”
Meanwhile, Rangers right-handed starter Jack Leiter struggled to an early exit. He departed midway through the fourth after surrendering three earned runs and striking out five. He allowed six hits and three walks.
John Rave shows off his arm
Royals right fielder John Rave prevented a run from scoring in the second inning thanks to a nice throw home.
Rangers right fielder Josh Smith flied out to right field, but Texas designated hitter Joc Pederson attempted to score after tagging up at third base.
Rave threw a dart to catcher Luke Maile, and the home-plate umpire ruled Maile had applied the tag to Pederson just before the latter touched home plate. The Rangers challenged the call, but the decision on the field was soon upheld.
“The call stood and it was a great play that got us a little momentum going there,” Wacha said.
Salvador Perez misses series opener
Royals catcher and team captain Salvador Perez was a late scratch for Monday night’s series opener because of an illness.
He was supposed to catch for Wacha and bat fifth in the order. And he was no doubt looking forward to it: The first time he faced Leiter this season, on June 17 in Arlington, Texas, he homered twice.
“He’s just sick,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “He doesn’t feel well today. We know that for him to even say something, he’s got to be pretty sick.”
Quatraro said Perez was still available as an emergency catcher for the game in case anything happened to catcher Luke Maile.
Royals designate Canha for assignment
Before the game, the Royals designated veteran outfielder Mark Canha for assignment.
Royals manager Matt Quatraro explained why before Monday’s game.
“We don’t have a clear opportunity for him for playing time,” Quatraro said. “At this point, that was the decision to make: to let him try to have an opportunity to find a big-league job elsewhere.”
Estevez records career-high 32nd save
Carlos Esteves recorded his league-leading 32nd save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning against Texas.
The 32 saves represents a career high for the major-league veteran relief pitcher, who is in his first season with the Royals.
“It’s great,” Esteves said. “I’m happy I’ve been given an opportunity to do it.”
He expressed satisfaction in the team’s recent run of success.
“Things are going well and for this group,” he said, “the way we are fighting every game, that’s huge for the whole group. ...
“Numbers are whatever. Yeah, numbers are good, but at the end of the day I’m just really happy I got to hold those guys (Rangers) right there and get the win for our team.”
Up next for the Royals
The Royals continue their four-game series vs. the Rangers on Tuesday at The K. The 6:40 p.m. game is a battle of right-handers on the mound: KC’s Seth Lugo is scheduled to pitch opposite Texas’ Merrill Kelly.
This story was originally published August 18, 2025 at 9:35 PM.
