Why Royals' blowout loss to Yankees mirrors underlying trend of season

Jaylon Thompson, The Kansas City Star on May 26, 2026

Published in Baseball

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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals turned to their bullpen Tuesday night against the New York Yankees with two starters missing on the injured list.

And things didn’t go well.

The Yankees bludgeoned the Royals early. New York scored seven runs on Royals opener Bailey Falter and chased him after 2 1/3 innings.

The hit parade continued against relievers Luinder Avila, Steven Cruz and Eli Morgan. The Royals also had utilityman Tyler Tolbert pitch the ninth inning. It was his second relief appearance this season.

Each pitcher gave up at least a run in the lopsided 15-1 loss.

The Royals (22-33) have now lost 12 consecutive regular-season games to the Yankees (33-22). It’s their second-longest losing streak to one team — done most recently from July 23, 2016, to July 15, 2017, against the Texas Rangers.

So where do the Royals go from here?

The nine-game homestand has been a disastrous stretch. The club has dropped six of eight games so far and is staring at another potential sweep Wednesday. The Yankees will start right-hander Gerrit Cole in the series finale.

The Royals were swept by the Boston Red Sox to begin the homestand. After rallying to win the following series against the Seattle Mariners, the Royals are now saddled with more questions regarding their 2026 campaign.

There have been flashes of excellence. Stephen Kolek threw a complete-game shutout against the Mariners last weekend. Meanwhile, Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. seemingly found their offensive stride at the plate.

However, the Royals’ flaws have also been exposed. Injuries have ravaged their pitching staff, and it’s why Tuesday’s drubbing against the Yankees continues to highlight a disappointing trend.

The Royals have underwhelmed offensively. The stars haven’t shown up consistently, and it’s putting pressure on the pitching staff to overcome it.

On Tuesday, the Yankees took advantage. The Bronx Bombers recorded a season-high 24 hits. Five players hit home runs — including Cody Bellinger and Amed Rosario, who contributed to a four-run first inning.

Falter almost escaped the inning unscathed. After giving up Bellinger’s homer, he nearly was back in the dugout after retiring Yankees DH Ben Rice.

Rice hit a line drive to Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone. The baseball nosedived toward the outfield grass as Caglianone appeared to catch it inside his glove’s webbing.

Rice was initially called out. However, the Yankees challenged the call and replay review overturned the decision. Different camera angles showed the ball hit the ground as Rice was awarded an RBI single.

This sent Falter back to the mound. He would give up a two-run homer to Rosario as the Yankees jumped ahead for good.

Falter allowed seven earned runs on nine hits. He missed over the plate as the Yankees clubbed three homers during his outing.

Avila didn’t fare better. He allowed three runs in three innings. The Yankees scored in five of the nine frames to win the series outright.

Cruz was the lone bright spot. He allowed a run but recorded four strikeouts while touching upper-90s with his fastball.

The Royals’ lone run came in the third inning. Witt hit a 386-foot solo homer off Yankees starter Cam Schlittler to avoid being shut out as the club scattered six hits in the loss.

Schlittler tossed a quality start in six innings. This season, he has allowed seven hits and two runs in 12 innings (two starts) against the Royals.

The Yankees have outscored the Royals 43-10 in five regular-season games so far.

What’s next?

Royals left-hander Noah Cameron (2-3, 4.72 ERA) will start Wednesday night against the Yankees at Kauffman Stadium. He will oppose Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who is making his second start of the season. First pitch is set for 6:40 p.m. Central.