Royals hit roadblock in loss to Rangers that included scary moment for Seth Lugo
The Kansas City Royals had been surging at the right time. After a slow start to the season, the Royals were finding ways to win.
However, the club ran into a roadblock Wednesday night.
The Royals fell 6-4 to the Texas Rangers. KC scored in four separate innings but saw its winning streak end at three games.
“The at-bats down the stretch, they were quality at-bats, just came up short,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said.
KC had won five of six before Wednesday.
Jac Caglianone remained hot at the plate. He recorded four hits, including an RBI single, to tie the game at 2 in the fifth inning. An inning later, Lane Thomas drove in a run with an RBI single.
Thomas got the start for Kyle Isbel in center field after Isbel was placed on the 10-day injured list with a left foot injury.
The Royals recorded 13 hits. Seven of the nine starters recorded a hit as the club fell to 28-40.
“It’s frustrating,” Royals infielder Nick Loftin said. “Losing is not fun. But, you know, we had a lot of opportunities in this game. So everything that happened from the eighth inning on, we had a lot of opportunities before that.”
Scary moment for Seth Lugo
In the fourth inning, Royals starter Seth Lugo was struck in the head by a 106.6 mph line drive off the bat of Rangers star Brandon Nimmo. It was a scary moment as both Nimmo and the Royals training staff raced out to Lugo.
Lugo was alert and able to walk off the field on his own power. The Royals would insert right-handed reliever Mason Black into the game.
“They took him for a CT scan just to be safe,” Quatraro said of Lugo. “But we hadn’t gotten the results or anything. It’s not back yet.”
Black did his best to limit the damage. He allowed one earned run in 1 ⅔ innings while another was charged to Lugo. The Rangers scored two runs in the fourth as Evan Carter walked with the bases loaded and Nicky Lopez added an RBI single.
The fourth inning could’ve been worse. However, Caglianone recorded another outfield assist to end the inning and keep the deficit at 2-1.
“It’s my job in that situation to go out there and just shorten the game for the guys in the back-half of the bullpen,” Black said. “So would’ve liked to have done a better job of that, but still kept the game close.”
Royals-Rangers decided in late innings
Both teams battled into the late innings. Rangers star MacKenzie Gore allowed two runs in five innings and recorded six strikeouts. The Royals made a lot of contact but didn’t have much to show for it early.
After Gore departed, the Royals took a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning. Thomas propelled the Royals with his RBI single. However, the Rangers tied it up again against left-handed reliever Matt Strahm.
In the seventh, Rangers slugger Jake Burger hit a solo home run. He hammered an 80.0 mph slider atop the strike zone. It was his 11th homer this season.
But once again, the Royals roared back offensively. This time, Caglianone hit a two-out single and Nick Loftin proceeded to hit an RBI triple off the right-field wall.
“Super competitive,” Caglianone said. “You know, a lot of back and forth. I think everybody’s pretty locked in the whole time, just given nobody ever really had that big lead or anything like that. But I think everybody in here really battled all night, just came up a little short.”
The Rangers would match in the eighth. After Lucas Erceg loaded the bases, Burger hit a sacrifice fly off lefty specialist Daniel Lynch IV.
The game went to extras tied at 4-4. The Rangers scored two runs off Royals reliever Alex Lange to even the series.
KC will look to win the series against the Rangers on Thursday afternoon.
What’s next: Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (4-4, 3.44 ERA) will start opposite Rangers righty Kumar Rocker (2-5, 3.54 ERA) on Thursday at Kauffman Stadium. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m. Central.
This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 10:39 PM.
