Royals drop fifth straight in 11 innings, 5-4

May 14, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Kansas City Royals center fielder Kyle Isbel (28) reacts after striking out against the Chicago White Sox during the ninth inning at Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images The Royals’ bats continued the vanishing act they have taken on the road so often this year, and the Royals dropped the series opener to the Cardinals. Michael Wacha, for the first time since his last start, did his job.

He pitched six innings, allowing three runs. Would you like more innings and fewer runs? Always.

But the odds of getting either are very low, even with Wacha pitching as well as he has this year. Dustin May, unfortunately, matched him, which made it a three-inning game between the bullpens. I don’t have the numbers in front of me, but my sense is that the Royals’ bullpen has done a pretty good job of holding leads, but they’ve been abysmal at keeping tied or losing games from getting worse.

The Royals got the scoring going in the fourth inning. Vinnie Pasquantino drew a walk; Salvador Perez hit a long single off the right-field wall. The broadcast noted that it took a good defensive play to prevent Vinnie from scoring on that hit.