Royals hadn’t hit multiple homers in a game since March. Why that changed vs. O’s
The Kansas City Royals are searching for more offense. On Saturday, they found it in the power of the long ball.
Cavan Biggio hit a solo home run off Baltimore Orioles right-handed starter Tomoyuki Sugano. He squared up a 92.3 mph fastball in the fifth inning for his first homer with the organization.
“My first at-bat, he started me off with a good pitch to hit and I took it,” Biggio said. “I was leading off the inning. So I think going into that (next) at-bat, I was just trying to be really aggressive on a heater early and just put a good swing on it.”
Later, Kyle Isbel and Vinnie Pasquantino joined the party. They each hit solo home runs in the eighth inning.
KC never trailed in winning 4-0 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Each club has now won a game in this three-game series, which concludes here on Sunday.
“I thought it was tough early on for us, but we got a little bit better,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “And the homers are what separated things. Those were great swings.”
The Royals haven’t hit many homers this season. That wasn’t the case Saturday.
Biggio’s home run was the Royals’ 16th of the year and first since Pasquantino homered Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Pasquantino’s shot Saturday was fifth of the season. He leads the team in both homers and RBIs.
“I hit third in this lineup,” he said. “If I’m not hitting, it’s bad for me and it’s bad for the team. I have to do something. It’s not putting any extra pressure on myself or anything, but I’m hitting third for a reason. You know, I’ve got to be better.”
The Royals’ three-homer outburst is an encouraging sign. However, they still rank last among MLB teams in the category.
Fourteen of the Royals’ 18 homers this year have been solo shots.
“Results are results,” Isbel said. “We are going to keep putting in the quality of work behind the scenes. And then we will be right where we need to be.”
Royals starting pitcher Kris Bubic didn’t require much run support. He tossed five shutout innings and lowered his earned-run average. Bubic’s ERA is now 1.98 after he allowed just four hits and struck out three batters.
“I think the sinker, for the first time this season, thankfully came more into the fold,” Bubic said. “And I think you could see some of the swings they were taking.
“Some of the lefties, we were jamming them and getting the ball on the ground. Even when I fell behind in the count, we could still go back to that. Just splitting the plate with the sinker and the four-seam was huge.”
The Orioles (13-19) silenced throughout the game. Gunnar Henderson hit two singles, but the Royals’ bullpen extinguished any late threats.
The KC relief trio of Daniel Lynch IV, Lucas Erceg and John Schreiber shut the door. Lynch pitched two scoreless innings.
“It was a pretty big spot for him to come in,” Bubic said of Lynch. “He has been great all year. Really worked hard to get those big hitters out and really set the table for the rest of the game. The offense tacked on some runs there just to bridge the gap to Erceg.”
The Royals improved to 18-16 on the season and have won four of five games on their six-game road trip.
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Here are more notable aspects of Saturday’s game:
Rain delay interrupts play
The Royals endured a short rain delay before concluding the second game of their weekend series against the Orioles.
On Saturday, inclement weather halted play for 57 minutes at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
A thunderstorm loomed over the stadium in the second inning. The Royals were due to bat when a torrential rain forced the stoppage.
Neither team had scored at that point.
Royals left-handed starter Kris Bubic tossed a scoreless first inning on 19 pitches. He allowed a single and a walk but worked out of damage with a key strikeout of Orioles first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.
The first inning took 16 minutes. After the delay, the game resumed at 7:28 p.m. Central Time.
A few Royals tried to stay loose during the rain delay. Pasquantino took the time to shave his beard and mustache and tend to his glove, which came apart when it snared a line drive laced by Cedric Mullins at 105.6 mph.
And it seemed the adjustments worked.
“Nobody needed that rain delay more than me,” Pasquantino said. “I was able to get my glove back and I shaved and we won. That’s all that matters.”
What’s next: The Royals conclude their series against the Baltimore Orioles. On Sunday, Royals right-handed starter Michael Lorenzen (3-3, 3.48 ERA) will start against right-hander Kyle Gibson (0-1, 22.09 ERA).
This story was originally published May 3, 2025 at 9:41 PM with the headline "Royals hadn’t hit multiple homers in a game since March. Why that changed vs. O’s."
