Michael Wacha kept adding to a season already full of milestones on Tuesday night, but the Royals still came up short.
The Kansas City right-hander worked six scoreless innings against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Kauffman Stadium, pushing his total to a career-high 182 ⅔ innings in a season. That topped his previous best from 2015, the same year he earned an All-Star nod.
The Royals have counted on Wacha heavily this year, especially after injuries knocked Cole Ragans and Luinder Avila out of the mix. That has turned Wacha into the anchor of the rotation, and manager Matt Quatraro didn’t hide how much the club has leaned on him.
“Running out of things to say about him,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “I mean, the way he works, the way he prepares and the way he bounces back.
We’ve talked about his game-planning and how that’s adapted over the years. ... (It’s) something different every time with the same result.”
Wacha came into the night with a 3.36 ERA across 28 starts. Opponents were batting .229 against him, and he ranked first among American League leaders in quality starts and innings per game. Against Arizona, he allowed three hits, struck out four and walked four, while the Royals defense helped him out with Vinnie Pasquantino starting an unassisted double play in the fourth.
Still, the right-hander said it was a battle.
“I think it was a little bit of a grinder,” Wacha said. “You know, a lot of walks on my end there.
Just playing with fire there for the majority of that outing. But was able to make pitches whenever I needed to.
Defense was playing great.”
Kansas City couldn’t cash in enough offensively, and that became costly in a 5-3 extra-inning loss. The Royals tied it with two outs in the ninth when John Rave launched a two-run homer, sending the game to extras for the second straight night.
The late drama didn’t stop there. Both teams scored in the 10th, but Arizona broke through again when Lourdes Gurriel Jr. ripped an RBI triple into the gap between Rave and Kyle Isbel.
“I just think where the ball was hit to and where we were positioned (was the difference),” Rave said. “In my eyes, it was two outfielders trying to make a really hard play and didn’t end up getting there.”
The Royals finished with a few missed chances earlier, too. In the second inning, Michael Massey doubled to lead off, Isaac Collins walked, and a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position with less than one out. But Matthew Lugo and Kyle Isbel both flied out, and Nick Loftin struck out earlier in the inning against Corbin Burnes.
Burnes was making his 2026 debut after being activated from the 60-day injured list following UCL surgery. He worked three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and throwing 57 pitches before handing things over to the Arizona bullpen.
“It’s been a lot of different guys and a lot of different looks,” Quatraro said. “We know Burns is going to be tough with the cutter and the curveball. I mean, he doesn’t give in.”
From there, the Diamondbacks’ relief corps kept Kansas City off the board until the late rally. Arizona took the lead in the eighth on Geraldo Perdomo’s sacrifice fly off Connor Thomas, with Ketel Marte scoring after opening the inning with a single. Tim Tawa added a solo homer in the ninth, his 10th of the year with the club, before Rave answered for Kansas City.
“I mean you are down to your last out,” Quatraro said. “You know, he got into that ball and it was huge. “
The loss dropped the Royals to 64-82 and locked in their first losing season since 2023. Arizona, meanwhile, improved to 78-68 and secured the series outright, with Wednesday’s finale still to come.
“That’s a team that’s fighting for every game and trying to get in the playoffs,” Massey said. “And they certainly are bringing that style of play to the game.”
Kansas City will send left-hander Daniel Lynch IV (4-5, 3.51 ERA) to the mound Wednesday night. The Diamondbacks have not announced a starter.
First pitch is set for 6:40 pm. Central.
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