Three takeaways from the Kansas City Royals’ series loss to Milwaukee Brewers
The Kansas City Royals hit the road for their first trip of the 2025 season. KC stopped in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to face the Brewers for a three-game midweek series.
A few early-season issues traveled along with them.
The Royals continued to produce inconsistent offense. In Monday’s game, KC scored 11 runs and picked up its second victory. Tuesday’s game was a different story as the offense went dormant against Brewers starting pitcher Chad Patrick.
KC was shut out on just four hits. Multiple players have started slowly this season, including outfielders MJ Melendez and Hunter Renfroe. They are a combined 3-for-31 (.096) with 12 strikeouts in six games this season.
“We are disappointed that we lost,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We are not disappointed in our offense or our defense. It’s a team loss. So, we are disappointed in the loss overall.”
There were a few bright spots for the Royals during this three-game road series. Left-handed pitcher Kris Bubic was dominant in his first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery. He tossed six shutout innings and recorded eight strikeouts Tuesday.
All-Star ace Cole Ragans also regained his form. He allowed one earned run and recorded 10 strikeouts in Wednesday’s pitchers’ duel against Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta.
But the Royals fell 3-2 in extra innings.
“You’ve got to look at the positives,” said KC’s Cavan Biggio, who played left field Wednesday. “Peralta has some really good stuff today and pitched really well. But, I think we did a lot of great things during the game and kept us in the game for a long time.”
Overall, the Royals didn’t do enough to win the series against the Brewers. Now they return home to face the Baltimore Orioles in a series opener on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.
Here are three takeaways from the series in Milwaukee ...
Maikel Garcia continues to swing a hot bat
Garcia has been one of the Royals’ early surprises. He is producing at a high level and showcasing better contact balance at the plate.
He added a toe-tap to his batting stance this offseason, and good results have followed. Garcia is hitting .353 (6-for-17) with two home runs and three RBIs. He’s also turned in an .824 OPS (on-base plus slugging).
“I was working a lot in the offseason and my hitting stance is new,” he said. “I’m just being patient and make good decisions at the plate. Just trying to put the ball more in play.”
On Monday, Garcia hit a solo homer off the batter’s eye in center field. The blast traveled 428 feet and had an exit velocity of 108.8 mph.
It was Garcia’s second home run in three games.
The Royals like what Garcia brings to the table. His speed and defensive versatility will allow him to carve out a meaningful role. Royals manager Matt Quatraro has already utilized Garcia at third base and center field.
If he continues to hit, Garcia could become the fixture the Royals have needed at the bottom of the lineup.
Offense remains stuck in neutral
The Royals seem a bit off at the plate. While Garcia — and leadoff hitter Jonathan India — have provided consistent at-bats, the rest of the offense has sputtered.
The Royals on Monday recorded 14 hits in their 11-1 blowout victory. Then, the offense hit a cold spell with just eight hits in 20 innings between Games 2 and 3.
There were chances to break through. However, the Royals failed to capitalize in key moments.
In Tuesday’s game, the Royals brought the go-ahead run to the plate. The Brewers were into their bullpen as Michael Massey stepped up.
Massey faced reliever Jared Koenig with two outs. KC had two runners aboard and Massey grounded out to end the frame. The next inning, Milwaukee scored two additional runs to put the game away.
“It’s honestly, I feel like, too early to put a label on it,” Massey said of the Royals’ offense. “You know, Biggio hit a ball right at a dude and Bobby’s hit some balls that hang up and get caught.
“We are still at the point in the season where guys hit .180 and they go 3-for-4. It’s just too early to put a label on it. I feel like we are giving some good at-bats and running into some tough arms.”
KC finished 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners stranded in Tuesday’s game.
Things weren’t better on Wednesday. The Royals couldn’t get anything working against the Brewers’ pitching staff.
The Royals struck out 14 times and registered just four hits.
The biggest turning point might’ve been when Bobby Witt Jr and Vinnie Pasquantino both struck out with the go-ahead run aboard in the ninth inning against Brewers closer Trevor Megill.
A positive? Royals’ bullpen saves day
The Royals’ bullpen was thrust into a tough spot Wednesday. The Brewers had runners on second and third with no outs in a tied ballgame.
KC called upon relievers Angel Zerpa and Lucas Erceg to keep the Brewers from scoring the go-ahead run.
Zerpa, who issued a walk and a double, was in trouble. However, he remained composed and retired Brewers infielder Brice Turang on a groundout.
Next, Erceg emerged from the bullpen. He induced a force play before striking out Brewers pinch hitter Christian Yelich to end the inning.
The Royals’ bullpen kept them in it Wednesday. Relievers Hunter Harvey and John Schreiber were able to bear down and keep the score tied.
Perhaps the best example of the relief corps’ good work: Carlos Estévez helped Kansas City survive a controversial balk call that, a couple batters later, led to the bases being loaded with no one out.
That’s not the only example of the bullpen coming through in this series. Left-hander Daniel Lynch IV worked quality relief innings to help save the bullpen the other day.
This could be an aspect of the club that’s improving.
“Really good effort,” Estévez said. “If we are going to be in a lot of ballgames like this, I think we are going to have a pretty good chance to win a lot of those.
“They came out on top today. I believe we go out there and attack the strike zone and get outs like that, we are in a really good spot.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2025 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Three takeaways from the Kansas City Royals’ series loss to Milwaukee Brewers."
