The Kansas City Royals wrapped up their final road trip of the 2026 season the same way too many games have gone lately: a late lead, a shaky bullpen, and a loss that slipped through their fingers.
On Sunday at rainy PNC Park, the Royals were up 3-2 in the eighth inning and had a chance to bank a win after Vinnie Pasquantino delivered the day’s biggest swing. Pasquantino, coming off the bench and not in the starting lineup, launched a pinch-hit, two-run homer in the seventh inning off Pirates right-hander Carmen Mlodzinski. He turned on an 86.2 mph splitter that stayed up in the zone and gave Kansas City a 3-2 edge.
It was a much-needed blast for a Royals offense that had spent most of the afternoon stuck in neutral against Pittsburgh’s bullpen game. Kansas City scored early, then went quiet until Pasquantino came through. Captain Salvador Perez had started at first base, as the Royals continue rotating Pasquantino, Perez and Jac Caglianone in the batting order down the stretch.
Pasquantino made the most of the opportunity. He went 5-for-9 in the three-game set and has now gone deep six times in his last 20 games.
“My role is changing a little bit, so trying to get use to that,” Pasquantino told reporters in Pittsburgh. “Felt pretty comfortable.
You kind of know in those situations you want to be aggressive. You want to try to get a good pitch to hit.
See the situation in the game and try to make something happen.”
But the lead didn’t last. Pirates catcher Rafael Flores Jr. answered in the eighth with a two-run homer off Royals reliever Nate Pearson, driving an 89.7 mph slider over the left-field wall and handing Pittsburgh a 4-3 win.
Pearson has now allowed eight earned runs over his last four outings. Sunday was also the first homer he had surrendered since June 7.
For the Royals, it was the latest gut punch from a bullpen that has become a recurring problem. Kansas City has now watched a one-run lead disappear in back-to-back games after reliever Steven Cruz gave up the go-ahead homer to Brandon Lowe on Saturday.
“It’s exceptionally tough,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro told reporters in Pittsburgh. “You know, I feel bad for the guys as they competed. And like we talk about, a lot of emphasis goes on with what happens in the late innings.
“That’s where the scrutiny turns, and understandably so. There’s several innings before that where we have opportunities and we just haven’t done a good job separating games.”
The loss also wasted another solid outing from Michael Wacha. The 2026 All-Star gave the Royals 5 2/3 innings and allowed two runs, though he had to work through command issues and issued four walks. He struck out five and threw 78 of his 113 pitches for strikes, his highest total since 2019.
Wacha has now logged 194 1/3 innings this season and needs 5 2/3 more to reach 200 for the first time in his career.
“Just trying to go as deep as you can and maybe save an arm or two in the bullpen,” Wacha told reporters of his mindset on Sunday.
Pittsburgh did its damage with timely swings from its top bats. Oneil Cruz homered in the fourth, Spencer Horwitz drove in a run with a single in the fifth, and Flores delivered the decisive blow in the eighth. The Pirates finished off a three-game sweep with three comeback wins and moved to 79-77.
Kansas City, meanwhile, dropped seven of nine on the road trip and finished the year 28-53 away from home. The Royals are now 67-89 and will head back to Kauffman Stadium for their final six games of the 2026 season.
“We’ve come back in a couple,” Quatraro said, “but ultimately they got the big hits when they needed them.”
The Royals are off Monday before opening a series against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday at The K. First pitch is set for 6:40 Central Time.
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