The good & bad of the Kansas City Royals’ series-finale loss vs. the Cardinals
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Royals starter Stephen Kolek allowed nine runs in 1⅔ innings and exited early.
- Cardinals' JJ Weatherholt hit two consecutive homers and reached base four times.
- Royals rallied with multiple homers but lost 12-10, dropping to 32-46 on the season.
The Kansas City Royals found themselves in a significant hole against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday afternoon.
A seven-run deficit to be exact.
Royals right-handed starter Stephen Kolek was roughed up early. He lasted five outs before being chased from the game.
“Just wasn’t a good day overall from the get-go,” Kolek said. “Nothing was really going where I wanted it to, and just wasn’t a good day.”
The Royals couldn’t overcome the slow start in Sunday’s 12-10 loss at Kauffman Stadium. But they did make it exciting late.
Here’s a look back at Sunday’s series finale...
Stephen Kolek struggles through start
Kolek didn’t have his steady command against the Cardinals. As a groundball pitcher, the Royals standout thrives on getting the baseball down in the strike zone.
On Sunday, Kolek left too many pitches elevated. And the Cardinals made him pay by scoring nine runs in 1 ⅔ innings. St. Louis rookie JJ Weatherholt belted homers in consecutive at-bats and Masyn Winn tagged Kolek with a three-run shot.
“Those days are going to happen,” Kolek said. “Ideally, they’re definitely not as bad as they were today.”
The Cardinals sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning. In total, Kolek faced 15 batters, allowing nine hits and a walk. He didn’t record a strikeout.
“It’s definitely tough to pitch when you don’t have command over stuff like that,” Kolek said. “So we’re going to clean it up and get right back to it.”
Weatherholt reached base four times while five Cardinals recorded an RBI. Winn led the club with four RBIs in the series finale.
“I mean, the second inning, tough to give up that home run,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “But it did happen, and then after that, just couldn’t get away from them.”
Jac Caglianone provided a big spark
The Royals made things interesting offensively. Jac Caglianone, who had homered in each of the first two games of the series, made it three-for-three by belting a 444-foot blast for his team-leading 11th home run of the season.
Then, he hit his 12th home run in the ninth inning.
“Yeah, he’s pretty locked in, that’s for sure,” Quatraro said. “I mean, you see the huge power. Those balls are not wall scrapers. And he’s seeing the ball really well.”
In the second, the Royals matched the Cardinals with a four-run outburst. Nick Loftin added a two-run homer. The pair of homers left the Royals trailing 9-6 heading to the third frame.
KC would draw closer as Salvador Perez added an RBI single in the fourth. However, the Cardinals surged forward an inning later.
Ivan Herrera hit a three-run homer off Royals reliever Steven Cruz with two outs. After quickly recording two strikeouts, Cruz walked Cardinals outfielder Nathan Church and hit Weatherholt to put two runners aboard.
Then, Herrera grooved a 96.5 mph fastball that caught too much of the plate. The homer pushed the deficit to five runs again. And ultimately, the Royals weren’t able to catch up — even if they had some more fireworks in store.
Carter Jensen hit a solo homer into the Cardinals’ bullpen in the sixth. It was his 10th home run as he continues to perform well in the leadoff spot.
“He’s impressive for sure,” Jensen said of Caglianone. “I told him after my homer today, I can go oppo (opposite field) too. So try to throw a little bit of fun in there.”
In the ninth, the Royals had one final rally.
After Caglianone’s homer, the club brought the winning run to the plate. However, Cardinals right-hander Riley O’Brien retired pinch-hitter John Rave and left fielder Isaac Collins to end the game.
“The guys were putting together really good at-bats, fighting our way back into it,” Caglianone said. “It comes to the last out. And (Kameron Misner) dropped down that bunt to get the runners into scoring position. It was huge. Just little plays like that, I feel like, are going to help us down the road.
“Not today, but having faith in one another I think is the biggest thing. So clearly we have that. It was fun to watch even though we came up short.”
The Cardinals (41-34) avoided a sweep in the I-70 series. For the season, the clubs split the six-game slate.
The Royals (32-46) snapped their three-game winning streak. The bullpen gave up three runs, but Kolek’s rough start was too much to overcome at home.
What’s next: Royals right-hander Michael Wacha (4-5, 3.64 ERA) will start Monday night against the Tampa Bay Rays. He will oppose righty Drew Rasmussen (6-3, 2.59 ERA) in the series opener at Tropicana Field. First pitch is set for 5:40 p.m. Central.
This story was originally published June 21, 2026 at 4:30 PM.
