Royals run into trouble on basepaths vs. Red Sox: Where it went wrong Tuesday
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Royals baserunning mistakes led to two critical outs in a 7-1 loss to Boston.
- Kansas City entered the game with seven pickoffs and 18 outs on base this season.
- The Royals dropped to 20-29 and lost their 10th series after Tuesday’s defeat.
The Kansas City Royals have a baserunning problem.
It’s been an issue for quite some time, and it contributed to a loss at home on Tuesday. The Royals made two critical such blunders in a 7-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox at Kauffman Stadium.
“We made too many mistakes running the bases,” Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia said via a translator.
In the fifth inning with KC down 2-1, Garcia was thrown out trying to advance to second base. He had reached after Carter Jensen led off with a double.
Jensen reached third base as Red Sox right fielder Wilyer Abreu threw to home plate on Garcia’s single. Garcia didn’t stop running. He continued to second and was tagged out.
“I made an error running to second base and getting out when Bob (Witt Jr.), Salvy (Perez) and everybody else is coming up to bat,” Garcia said. “I didn’t come out of the box hard.
“But once I saw the throw was high, (Royals first base coach) Damon (Hollins) said to go and take it. And I was out.”
The Royals didn’t score a run in the inning. Bobby Witt Jr. flew out and Salvador Perez lined out — albeit only because of a nice leaping catch by Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran.
An inning later, with the score still 2-1, the Royals had two runners aboard. KC’s Lane Thomas and Starling Marte each singled to set up another scoring opportunity.
Again, however, the Royals failed to score. Thomas attempted a delayed steal but was caught by Red Sox reliever Tyler Samaniego.
“Obviously we are not scoring a lot of runs right now,” Thomas said. “I felt like, if I get to third, we had some good stuff on that certain pitcher. He just held a little longer.”
As Thomas raced toward third base, Samaniego stepped off the rubber and threw to third baseman Caleb Durbin, who was waiting to make the tag. That out was the second of the inning; Vinnie Pasquantino’s fly-out provided the third.
“The first couple of ones, you know, I timed it up right,” Thomas said. “I was trying to get to third right there with less than two (outs) with Vinnie up.
“That’s just something I thought might help us get on the board. So you know, it’s an aggressive — I don’t even want to call it a mistake — but just trying to get the offense going a little bit.”
Per Baseball Reference, the Royals entered Tuesday’s game with seven pickoffs and 18 outs on base this season.
And this trend is a continuation of one begun in 2025. Kansas City led the majors with 21 pickoffs last year, when the Royals finished with a record of 82-80.
“We need to create opportunities,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “So we have to try to do things like that because we’re not hitting a bunch of homers. Our offense has to be predicated on some of the aggressiveness on the bases. And sometimes you are going to make those outs.”
KC’s bullpen did a fine job of keeping the game close for most of the evening. It was 3-1 entering the ninth inning.
KC had opted to pitch a bullpen game after left-handed starter Kris Bubic, who was slated to start Tuesday’s game, was placed on the 15-day injured list.
Bailey Falter drew the start and gave way to four relievers. The bullpen kept it close until the ninth, when things went off the rails.
“I don’t think things could be going pretty much any worse for me right now,” Falter said. “I haven’t contributed to this team at all since being over here. So, it’s on me.”
Duran broke the game open in the ninth inning with a three-run homer off Royals reliever Eli Morgan. He allowed four runs in the inning.
Willson Contreras drove in two runs, Durbin one, for Boston (21-27). Red Sox starter Ranger Suarez allowed one earned run in 4 and 1/3 innings. But he gave up an RBI single to Thomas and didn’t qualify for the win.
“The guys didn’t expand with him (Suarez) and they laid off some tough pitches,” Quatraro said. “You know, obviously, he puts the ball on the ground. That’s what he does really well. As far as the competitiveness of the at-bats, the guys got him out there in the fifth inning. I mean it was working pretty good.”
The Royals dropped to 20-29. They have now lost 10 series this season and will look to avoid being swept by Boston on Wednesday night at The K.
What’s next: Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (4-2, 2.83 ERA) will start Wednesday’s game against the Red Sox. He will be opposed by Red Sox lefty Connelly Early (3-2, 3.21 ERA), with first pitch set for 6:40 p.m. Central Time.
This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 9:41 PM.
