The Royals were in a giving mood Friday and it cost them in road loss to Orioles
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- Royals lost 5-3 at Oriole Park, continuing their poor 17-31 road mark.
- Kansas City holds a 38-57 record and sits last in the American League Central.
- Matt Strahm allowed a Pete Alonso single and Cowser two-run homer in the eighth.
If you want to point a finger at the reason for the Royals’ struggles this season, frankly, you’ve got a lot of options.
Injuries, pitching problems, batting with runners in scoring position and base-running issues all come to mind quickly. But the Royals also have been among the worst in baseball away from home.
That continued on Friday night with a 5-3 loss at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
The Royals have a 38-57 record and remain mired in last place in the American League Central.
The thing is, the Royals are 21-26 at Kauffman Stadium, which admittedly is nothing to write home about. But the reason for having one of the worst records in baseball is their 17-31 road mark (.354 winning percentage).
Entering Friday’s games, only the Angels (16) and Rockies (15) had fewer wins on the road.
And the Royals, unfortunately, were in a giving mood Friday night. Twice they worked their way back into the game, only to quickly hand the lead back to the O’s.
“That’s tough. That’s how you win ball games is putting up zeros after you score,” said Isaac Collins, whose eighth-inning homer tied the game. “But credit to them. They have a good offense, and just yeah, this game’s tough, ruthless game. But just gotta show up tomorrow and make the adjustment.”
Royals starting pitcher Luinder Avila had an uneven outing, allowing three runs on seven hits in five innings with three walks and three strikeouts.
The Orioles scored twice in the second inning against Avila, but the Royals tied it in the fourth on a Jac Caglianone home run and Josh Rojas’ RBI double. However, Baltimore quickly regained the lead on Blaze Alexander’s homer in the bottom of the fourth inning off Avila.
Back came the Royals again.
Collins crushed a home run to dead center to start the eighth inning and tie the game.
But Royals reliever Matt Strahm allowed a single to Pete Alonso and a two-run homer to Samuel Basallo that stayed just fair down the right-field line for what proved to be the winning runs in the bottom of the eighth.
In his previous eight appearances, Strahm had allowed just one run with a 1.23 ERA.
“Got to get that off the plate and down, or I mean, throw the heater that he fouled off at his neck again,” Strahm said. “But yeah, just poor execution on that one.
“I feel like I missed two pitches, spiked the change-up, and hung the slider. Otherwise, I felt good. That’s kind of been my season. Every miss of mine’s kind of gotten the spotlight.”
To his point, Strahm has allowed at least one run in 14 outings this year, and opponents have hit a home run in nine of those games.
Unfortunately, the latest home run came right after the Royals had tied the game for the second time Friday.
“Guys talk about that all the time, shutdown innings.” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Didn’t work out tonight. I mean, it’s certainly something they’re aware of. They’re trying to go out there and throw strike one, get the first out, and then go from there. But didn’t work out that way tonight.”
Caglianone is Derby-ready
Caglianone opened the fourth inning with a solo shot to get the Royals on the board. It was his 10th home run since June 1, a big reason why he was invited to participate in the All-Star Game Home Run Derby on Monday.
Injury update
Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia, who has been on the Injured List since June 23 because of a muscle strain in his left hand, is expected to start hitting again during the All-Star break, Quatraro said.
Up next: The Royals face the Orioles in the second game of the series on Saturday. Left-hander Noah Cameron is set to start for Kansas City, while Baltimore counters with right-hander Kyle Bradish. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. Central Time.
This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 8:32 PM with the headline "The Royals were in a giving mood Friday and it cost them in road loss to Orioles."
