Bats back up Brad Keller and Royals end slide with 10-1 victory over Rangers: recap

The Kansas City Royals emphatically avoided a three-game sweep at the hands of the Texas Rangers.

Rolled in the series opener, walked off in the second game, the Royals took out some frustration with a 10-1 triumph on Wednesday night at Globe Life Field.

The lopsided win gave the Royals a split of their six game road trip after KC took two games in San Francisco last weekend. Returning home on a positive note was a pre-game point of emphasis.

“The guys were kind of focused on that,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said after the game. “There was talk of finishing up strong. It’s still a .500 trip.”

The Royals, who also broke a three-game skid, hit the ball early and often. MJ Melendez, batting leadoff, drove in three runs with a pair of hits. Bobby Witt Jr., tripled in a run and collected three hits and three stolen bases for the first time in his young career.

Vinnie Pasquantino belted his second home run of the season. NIcky Lopez picked up two hits, including a double, and scored twice. Among the regulars, only Salvador Perez didn’t record a base hit.

The run total and 14 hits were season bests for the Royals, who improved to 4-9. They batted around in the seventh inning, scoring four times. Michael Massey drove in two of those runs with a base hit.

“Great team win, with everyone coming together,” Witt said.

With three runs in the second inning, Royals starter Brad Keller and the bullpen had all the support they needed.

Keller, 2-1, breezed most of the night, at one point retiring 10 straight. He exited with two outs in the seventh. He struck out seven, scattered three hits and lowered his season ERA to 2.12.

“He was sharp,” Quatraro said. “Brad’s been solid, really right from the start of spring training. To see what he’s carried into the regular season is really impressive.”

REYES ON THE MOVE

Franmil Reyes, all 280 pounds of him, sparked the Royals with his speed.

Reyes beat out a swinging bunt to the left side. After moving to second on Edward Olivares’ infield single, he scored from there when Nicky Lopez singled up the middle.

“I anticipated the play and I was trying to score on a single,” Reyes said. “That was the first run, I had to hustle.”

Royals third base coach Vance Wilson was pointing to the base as Reyes made the turn, although not necessarily applying the stop sign. Reyes accelerated and scored easily.

SALVY AT FIRST

A series of defensive switches had Perez playing first base in the final two innings.

And wouldn’t you know, the first batter of the inning, Sandy Leon, hit a grounder to Perez. He fielded it cleanly and tossed it to pitcher Taylor Clarke for the out.

This marked the first time since 2020 that Perez logged innings at first base — just his 10th appearance there in his 1,266-game career.

NEXT

After the first off-day of the season Thursday, the Royals return home for six games, including three against these same Rangers.

First, the Atlanta Braves arrive at Kauffman Stadium for a weekend series featuring three different starting times. Friday’s game starts at 7:10 p.m., followed by Saturday’s at 3:10 p.m. and Sunday’s at 1:10 p.m.

The Rangers and Royals resume their season series on Monday, with all three games starting at 6:40 p.m.

Previous games in series:

Game 1: Royals whiff mightily (and often) as Rangers take series opener in Texas

Game 2: Royals rally late, Bobby Witt saves a run, but Rangers walk off