Royals Sweep Rangers

Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

June 19, 2025

Royals 4, Rangers 1

ARLINGTON, Texas (June 19) — The Texas Rangers fell victim to the Kansas City Royals for the third day in a row, losing 4–1, Thursday afternoon. Jac Caglianone pitched in with two home runs, thus leading the Royals to the sweep of the home-nine. This was a .500 homestand for the Rangers, Before this series, they swept the Chicago White Sox in three. With this series in the books, the Rangers will embark on a six-game road trip starting with three against the Pittsburgh Pirates. That set will begin Friday with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm Eastern at PNC Park. Right-hander Jacob deGrom (6–2, 2.19 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Rangers, while fellow righty Mike Burrows (1–1, 4.24 ERA) will take the mound for the Pirates.

The Royals, meanwhile, will head to San Diego to start a three-game series against the Padres. That trio of games will get underway on Friday with first pitch scheduled for 6:40 pm Pacific at Petco Park. Righty Michael Lorenzen (4–7, 4.91 ERA) will get the ball for the Royals, and the Padres have yet to announce their starting pitcher as of press time.

Caglianone’s Big Moment

The Royals scored quickly in the bottom of the first off Rangers right-hander Shawn Armstrong. With one out in the frame, Bobby Witt Jr. drew a free pass. Two batters later, Vinnie Pasquantino stepped to the plate and sent one over the wall in right for a two-run home run, his 11th of the year.

They stretched it to 3–0 in the top of the second off reliever Jacob Latz. It came courtesy of Caglianone’s first major league home run, a solo shot to right-center.

The Rangers managed to score in the bottom of the sixth with Michael Wacha on the mound for the Royals. Wyatt Langford lined a one-out single up the middle. After Corey Seager popped out to Witt Jr. at short, Marcus Semien scored Langford with a double to left.

Caglianone added another tally to the Royals lead with his second dinger of the afternoon, a solo shot to right-center in the top of the ninth off Rangers reliever Robert Garcia.

What Went Right for the Royals

The Royals have a bright young rookie in Jac Caglianone. He provided two of their three runs in Thursday’s series finale, and he is only getting started. Whenever a player has multiple home runs in a game, it’s a big help to his team. That sort of thing doesn’t happen every day, but it’s always nice when it does.

What Went Wrong for the Royals

For the first five innings and change, it looked as though the Royals would hold the Rangers scoreless. That line of thought fell apart in the bottom of the sixth when Semien hit his RBI double that plated Langford.

Another Bullpen Game for the Rangers

Shawn Armstrong shouldered the loss in his second start of the season in an opener role. His record now sits at 2–2 with an ERA of 3.38. He surrendered the two-run home run to Pasquantino in his lone inning. His line was 1 IP, 1 H, 2 R-ER, 1 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 25 pitches/14 strikes. Armstrong allowed two earned runs for the first time as a starter in his career, as he owned a 1.04 ERA in 17 career starts entering Thursday. He also snapped an 11-game scoreless streak that had gone on since May 22, which was one shy of his career high.

Quality Start for Wacha

Royals starter Michael Wacha notched a quality start and earned his fourth win of the season Thursday after tossing six innings of one-run ball. His final line was 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R-ER, 2 BB, 5 SO, 97 pitches/64 strikes as he improves to 4–6 this season with an ERA of 3.24. Wacha did not give up a hit through his first 5 1/3 innings, signifying the second time that he carried a no-hit bid into at least the sixth inning this season. He also had a no-hitter through 6 1/3 innings against the Detroit Tigers on May 31.

After tossing a second consecutive perfect ninth inning, reliever Carlos Esteves earned his 21st save of the season.

Bochy’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy reflected on his offense in this one. “The first thing that needs to be noted is that we faced a really good pitcher,” he said.” We saw some good pitching in this series, but Wacha is tough, and he had no problem reminding all of us of that today. I keep stressing that this is a complex game. You could be on fire at the plate for weeks at a time, and still have trouble against a guy like him. I don’t think it’s a mental block on our part. We’ve been good about giving guys days off when we feel it’s needed. So many people forget that there is a human element to the game of baseball. These guys bleed the same blood as the rest of us, and they make mistakes like the rest of us. They’ll come out of it.”