Lorenzen's Late Heroics Can't Overcome 4-3 Loss Despite Lineup's Bases-Loaded Struggles

The Kansas City Royals maintained their lead throughout much of the evening's match against the Houston Astros but ended up giving away a few late scores, ultimately losing 4-3 at Daikin Stadium.

In Kansas City’s opening frame during Colton Gordon's Major League Baseball debut, they aimed to make him feel right at home. Bobby Witt Jr. sent a line drive soaring towards center-left field, which bounced off the fence after just one hop. Initially considering stopping at second, Witt decided to push harder and slid safely into third as a triplescorer. However, he remained unscathed when Vinnie Pasquantino was tagged out between first and third, followed by Salvador Perez fanning strikeout three times.

Luckily, Maikel Garcia compensated in the second inning by smashing a magnificent curveball over the Crawford boxes to start things off, giving the Royals a 1-0 advantage. Gordon struck out the following two hitters but surrendered consecutive singles to Hunter Renfroe and Drew Waters. This brought Jonathan India to bat; he atoned for his called third strike earlier by hitting a line drive into left field that bounced once off the wall, driving in Renfroe and advancing Waters to third base. Witt fell behind 2-0 yet received an intentional walk. However, Pasquantino ended the frame by grounding out with the bases full.

In the meantime, Michael Lorenzen allowed solid contact but managed it effectively with assistance from his defense. By the time two outs were recorded in the fourth inning, he had only encountered the bare minimum of batters due to three double plays—two of which were groundballs and one where a runner was caught stealing after a strikeout. It wasn’t until Isaac Paredes hit a home run beyond the scoreboard that Houston scored; this brought the score to 2-1.

In the subsequent inning, the Royals retaliated. Pasquantino engaged in an extended at-bat lasting nine pitches before securing a leadoff walk; he then advanced to second when Gordon committed a balk. Following this, Perez hit a grounder that resulted in an out. Afterward, Gordon was taken out of the game. Shawn Dubin came in as a substitute to pitch against Garcia. Garcia tapped what seemed like a straightforward infield single through the center, yet luck favored him—the ball struck the second-base bag and ricocheted into left field, enabling Pasquantino to cross home plate and leaving Garcia safely positioned at second with a double. Despite retiring the following two hitters, Kansas City emerged ahead with a score of 3-1.

On the flip side, following the Paredes home run, Lorenzen immediately returned to recording outs. He proceeded to retire the subsequent five hitters consecutively until Mauricio Dubón hit a double down the left-field line. On his very next throw, the same outcome occurred when Jeremy Peña smashed another ball, swapping places with Dubón and making the score 3-2. Despite this, Lorenzen managed to strike out the next two batters, keeping the Royals ahead. By the end of the sixth inning, he had only used up 67 pitches.

He would remain on the pitcher’s mound until recording an out in the top of the eighth inning. After Zach Dezenzo hit a single to the opposite field, Dubón replicated the exact type of hit he had made two frames earlier, achieving similar results. Waters struggled to handle the ball when it struck the outfield wall, which allowed Dezenzo to cross home plate from first base, tying up the game. This performance marked the end of Lorenzen’s outing; subsequently, Carlos Estévez took over pitching duties. In his at-bat against Estévez, Peña fell behind 0-2 but managed to foul off a well-thrown high-and-tight fastball. Despite this challenge, Peña maintained control of his bat long enough to drive the ball sharply into left field, driving in Dubón and putting Houston in the lead with a score of 4-3.

Leading by a margin, the Astros handed the ball to Josh Hader for the ninth inning to seal their win. He easily dispatched the first two hitters he faced. However, Witt managed to stay alive by drawing a challenging walk. Despite this, Pasquantino couldn’t deliver the crucial hit, ending the game when he popped out to the center fielder.

This defeat pushes the Royals' record to 25-20. They will take Thursday off before starting an intense series against their intrastate rivals, the St. Louis Cardinals, on Friday at Kauffman Stadium.

Michael Lorenzen: 7.1 Innings Pitched, 7 Hits Allowed, 4 Runs, 4 Earned Runs, 1 Walk, 5 Strikeouts, 1 Home Run

Colton Gordon: 4.1 innings pitched, 7 hits allowed, 3 runs scored against, 3 earned runs, 2 walks issued, 3 strikeouts recorded, 1 home run conceded

Maikel Garcia: 2-4, home run, double, run scored, 2 runs batted in

Jeremy Peña: 4-4, 2B, 2 RBI