How the Royals hit a new low after being swept by the Texas Rangers on Sunday

Jaylon Thompson, The Kansas City Star on May 31, 2026

Published in Baseball

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The Kansas City Royals continue to fall short of expectations.

On Sunday, they took a new step toward futility.

The Royals lost their sixth straight game, this one 6-3 to the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field. Kansas City has lost 16 times in its last 19 games, a stretch that began May 10.

In that time, KC has been swept four times including in two straight series.

It started with the Chicago White Sox (May 12-14) and continued in KC’s recent homestand. The Boston Red Sox swept the Royals (May 18-20) before the New York Yankees outscored the club 26-4 during their three-game sweep.

In their latest series, the Royals were overmatched by the Rangers. Sunday’s effort featured a lackluster performance from the club in all phases. The offense failed to produce against Rangers starter Jack Leiter and Royals veteran Michael Wacha didn’t have his best command.

Leiter limited the Royals to three hits. He pitched efficiently behind a six-run lead and never seemed threatened across 5 ⅔ innings. Leiter registered 10 strikeouts and two walks while recording his third victory.

In the fourth inning, the Royals had two runners on base. However, Isaac Collins struck out to end the scoring threat.

The Royals were outscored 22-10 in the series. The club has scored 30 runs in its last 10 games.

Royals’ issues are bigger than the offense

It’s easy to point toward the offense. Yet injuries to the pitching staff continue to be a major theme of the Royals’ struggles.

While Matt Strahm returned Sunday from the injured list, the club is still without Carlos Estévez and Nick Mears. The starting rotation is missing left-handers Cole Ragans and Kris Bubic.

It puts more pressure on the available pitchers. On Saturday, Lucas Erceg blew his fifth save this season. Then Wacha struggled after entering play with a 2.69 ERA.

The Rangers did their damage in the first inning. Wacha issued a two-out walk and the floodgates opened. Ezequiel Duran hit a two-run triple and later scored on Alejandro Osuna’s RBI single.

From there, Kyle Higashoika added an RBI double. The four-run frame put Wacha behind, and he never recovered. Later, the Rangers manufactured two runs as Josh Jung hit a two-run single.

Wacha was charged with six runs in five innings. He walked four batters — including an intentional walk to Joc Pederson — and struck out five batters.

In the seventh inning, the Royals got on the board. Lane Thomas tallied a pinch-hit RBI single off Rangers reliever Jalen Beeks.

An inning later, Michael Massey hit a two-run homer to cut further into the deficit. It was his fourth homer of the season but came a bit too late.

The Royals dropped to 22-37. They are a season-high 15 games under .500 as the calendar flips to June.

KC finished May dropping 18 of 28 games. They will continue a 10-game road trip by facing the Cincinnati Reds for three games and the Minnesota Twins in a four-game series.

What’s next: Right-hander Luinder Avila (0-2, 5.06 ERA) will start opposite Reds right Chase Burns (7-1, 1.96 ERA) on Monday night at Great American Ball Park. First pitch is set for 6:10 p.m. Central.

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