Royals’ stave off Rays’ no-hit bid with 9th-inning HR. What happened + what’s next
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Rays hit four homers in a 13-2 victory; Caminero hit three and tied the record.
- Royals starter Seth Lugo allowed seven runs in five innings and took the loss.
- The Royals' first baserunner came in the sixth, and they scored five runs over 18 innings.
The Kansas City Royals witnessed a fireworks show in their Thursday afternoon series finale against Tampa Bay Ray at Tropicana Field.
The Rays blasted four home runs in hammering the Royals 13-2. Junior Caminero tied Tampa’s franchise record for most in a game, belting three. Starter Seth Lugo allowed most of the scoring and took the loss.
At the plate, the Royals were nearly no-hit. Carter Jensen’s ninth-inning homer was all that prevented it from happening.
“I mean, never the situation you want to be in as a team,” Jensen said. “But I think we kept our head in the game and we didn’t roll over.
“We’re putting together good at-bats, you know? Their guys were on. So we had some hard-hit balls right at some people, but that’s the game of baseball.”
Lugo, who celebrated 10 years of MLB service time this week, surrendered seven runs in five innings, walking two batters and striking out three.
The teams split their four-game series; the Royals dropped to 34-48, while the Rays improved to 45-33.
Caminero hit his first homer off Lugo in the first inning. Lugo struck out the Rays’ leadoff man, then gave up a single to Jonathan Aranda. Next up was Caminero, who pounced on a hanging 77.6 mph curveball.
The baseball landed just inside the left-field foul pole for the Tampa third baseman’s 17th home run of the season. It was a sign of more trouble to come, too, as Lugo continued to struggle with his command.
“I hung two breaking balls over the middle,” Lugo said. “I think everyone in the lineup can hit those. So I’ve just got to execute better.”
The Rays did more damage with two outs in the fourth. Cedric Mullins reached on a single and Lugo walked Taylor Walls on six pitches. After one borderline pitch, Jensen — playing catcher Thursday — initiated an ABS challenge. But the call wasn’t overturned.
Victor Mesa Jr. was up next and hit a three-run homer into the right-field seats, turning on Lugo’s 79.8 mph sweeper.
“I mean, that one surprised me,” Lugo said. “I tip my hat on that one. I thought it was a pretty nasty pitch. I thought it broke late ... That usually works better..
“I think I showed him two (sweepers) his first at-bat and wasted them. So showing him first-pitch sweeper again, I think that helped him out a little bit. It was a good swing.”
Lugo recorded just eight whiffs Thursday, throwing 57 of his 90 pitches for strikes. His record this season fell to 3-5.
Caminero added a solo homer in the fifth off Lugo and three-run shot in the ninth off shortstop Tyler Tolbert — who by that point, with the score well out of hand, was pitching in relief.
The Rays used right-handed pitcher Casey Legumina as an opener Thursday. He pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings before handing off to left-hander Ian Seymour.
The Royals didn’t fare much better against Seymour. Kansas City didn’t have a baserunner until right fielder Starling Marte drew a walk in the sixth.
Seymour threw a ton of strikes in his outing — 67 in 90 pitches. The Royals swung early in counts and he navigated their lineup with ease.
“He’s deceptive and the ball gets on you pretty quickly,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We had an idea that was the case. He did a good job mixing and kept us off the barrel. I think when we were looking soft, he went hard and vice-versa. But, he pitched exceptionally well.”
After scoring 14 runs to begin this four-game series, the Royals have been held to just five runs in their last 18 innings.
Jensen’s two-run homer came with Rays reliever Craig Kimbrel on the mound. It was Jensen’s 11th of the year and extended his hitting streak to 16 games.
What’s next: The Royals head to Chicago to begin a weekend series with the White Sox on Friday night. KC had yet to name a starter for Friday’s game as of early Thursday afternoon. Stephen Kolek was originally going to start but will instead be placed on the paternity list. First pitch Friday is set for 6:40 p.m. Central Time at Rate Field.
This story was originally published June 25, 2026 at 1:52 PM.
