How Ryan Bergert fared in his Royals debut against Red Sox at Fenway Park
Ryan Bergert looked right at home with the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday. The 25-year-old right-hander was in full control against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
And he finished his outing with a career milestone.
Bergert allowed two earned runs in a career-high 5 and 2/3 innings. He matched Red Sox ace Garrett Crochet at each turn. At one point, Bergert retired nine consecutive batters before being pulled in the sixth inning.
“I don’t know if you would call it nerves, just unfamiliarity a little bit,” Bergert told reporters postgame via FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City. “New clubhouse and new group of guys. I was excited, and I went out there and had a pretty good start. Obviously, there are places to improve, but overall I think it was good.”
The Royals turned to left-handed reliever Angel Zerpa to finish the sixth inning. The Red Sox, though, took advantage of Zerpa by scoring two key runs en route to a 6-2 victory.
Zerpa inherited a runner in his relief appearance. Red Sox third baseman Alex Bregman got aboard with a walk as Bergert was taken out of the game. From there, the Red Sox recorded three hits against Zerpa, including Trevor Story’s two-run single to regain the lead.
Story leads the majors with 49 RBIs since June 1.
Meanwhile, the Royals couldn’t do much against Crochet.
Bobby Witt Jr. scored an early run in the fourth inning after notching a one-out triple. Witt scored when Maikel Garcia hit an RBI double that tied the game at 1-1.
Crochet allowed two earned runs across seven innings in his start for Boston. He struck out eight batters, including Nick Loftin and Luke Maile, as the tying run was stranded at second base to end his night.
“He threw a ton of strikes,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said of Crochet, via FanDuel Sports Network Kansas City. “The first three or four innings, he was 80% strikes or close to it. Backdoor cutters to righties and upper 90s fastballs. He’s got the changeup too. He was locating the ball really well.”
The Royals (56-58) have now lost four of five games against the Red Sox. They stand 4 and 1/2 games behind the Seattle Mariners (60-53) for the third and final American League Wild Card spot.
The deficit could grow later Tuesday night as the Mariners were in action against the Chicago White Sox at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
Bergert looks solid in debut
The Royals are getting their first look at a few new acquisitions from recent trades.
KC saw what Bailey Falter brought to the table on Monday. It wasn’t the best start as he allowed seven earned runs in his first start with the club. However, Bergert — who was acquired from the Padres in a trade last week — fared better in what was his 12th career start overall.
Bergert relied on his defense to avoid trouble throughout his outing. He looked calm and composed while navigating a scorching Red Sox lineup. In the second inning, Bergert induced an inning-ending double play, and later he avoided big trouble by limiting the Red Sox to one run in the third.
“I think I showed my ability to go after guys and collect outs,” Bergert said. “It’s the name of the game and what I was trying to do tonight: get deep in the game and get some outs.”
Bergert recorded 42 swings and eight whiffs, per Baseball Savant. He relied primarily on his four-seam fastball, sweeper and slider to keep hitters off balance.
In his last three starts, Bergert has allowed five earned runs in 14 and 1/3 innings.
“He threw the ball exceptionally well,” Quatraro said. “I think he was pretty amped up early on and ran away with a couple of pitches that went arm side on him. You couldn’t ask for much more, he threw the ball really, really well.”
Royals bullpen collapses late
It wasn’t the best night for Royals relievers. The Red Sox took control late in the game by hitting both Zerpa and John Schreiber in the middle frames.
Boston scored three runs in the seventh. Schreiber allowed three earned runs and two walks in two-thirds of an inning. Wilyer Abreu laced a two-run single that extended the Red Sox lead, and Story followed with another RBI single.
“Zerpa against Abreu was a really good matchup for us. He got a pop-up, and in this ball park, that’s probably the only place where that’s a hit,” Quatraro said. “Tough result, and Zerpa jams Story too. Just really unfortunate timing for some of those hits to fall in.”
The Royals fell behind by four runs and never recovered. Boston shut the door in winning its seventh consecutive game.
What’s next: The Royals look to salvage a win in the series finale on Wednesday (6:10 p.m., Central Time). KC veteran Michael Wacha (5-9, 3.38 ERA) returns to Fenway Park to face his former team. The Red Sox will start right-hander Dustin May (6-7, 4.85 ERA).
This story was originally published August 5, 2025 at 8:49 PM with the headline "How Ryan Bergert fared in his Royals debut against Red Sox at Fenway Park."
