RBIs by Lane Thomas and Carter Jensen were enough for the Kansas City Royals to take advantage of Michael Wacha’s seven-inning gem, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 2-1 on Monday, June 22 at Tropicana Field in St Petersburg.
Thomas’ double in the second inning brought home the first run, when Michael Massey beat the throw home from left field. Jensen’s line drive to center field in the fifth scored Nick Loftin. Yandy Díaz brought in Tampa Bay’s only run in the bottom of the fifth, delivering a double that allowed Richie Palacios to score from first.
Pitching performances were solid for both squads, as Michael Wacha allowed just six hits and a walk in seven innings. His one earned run was offset by five strikeouts for his fifth win of the year, followed by Alex Lange’s sixth save of the year. Drew Rasmussen took the loss despite limiting the Royals to just four hits and two walks across six innings. He also struck out five batters. The Royals were held to just 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, while Tampa went 0-for-7 and stranded five, while having a base runner picked off and grounding into a double play.
The Royals improve to 33-46, now eight games behind the White Sox in the AL Central. Luinder Avila will face off against Shane McClanahan on Tuesday evening, with first pitch at 5:45 p.m. Pregame coverage begins at 5 p.m. on KMMO AM 1300.