Three takeaways from Royals' series loss to Brewers

Jaylon Thompson, The Kansas City Star on Apr 2, 2025

Published in Baseball

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MILWAUKEE — The Kansas City Royals hit the road for their first trip of the 2025 season. KC stopped in Milwaukee to face the Brewers for a three-game midweek series.

A few early-season issues traveled along.

The Royals continued to produce inconsistent offense. In Monday’s game, KC scored 11 runs and picked up its second victory. Tuesday’s game was a different story as the offense went dormant against Brewers starter Chad Patrick.

KC was shut out and produced four hits. Multiple players have started slow, including outfielders MJ Melendez and Hunter Renfroe. They are a combined 3 for 31 (.096) with 12 strikeouts in six games this season.

Conversely, the Royals had a few bright spots. Left-hander Kris Bubic was dominant in his first start since undergoing Tommy John surgery. He tossed six shutout innings and recorded eight strikeouts against the Brewers.

Royals All-Star ace Cole Ragans also regained his form. He allowed one earned run and recorded 10 strikeouts in Wednesday’s pitchers’ duel against Brewers right-hander Freddy Peralta. The Royals fell, 3-2 in extra innings.

Overall, the Royals didn’t do enough to win the series against the Brewers. A few questions still remain as the club returns home to face the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Here are three takeaways from the series...

Garcia continues to swing a hot bat

Maikel Garcia has been one of the early surprises this season. He is producing at a high level and showcasing better contact balance at the plate.

This offseason, Garcia added a toe-tap to his batting stance and results have followed.

Garcia is hitting .353 (6 for 17) with two home runs and three RBIs. He’s also turned in an .824 OPS (on-base plus slugging).

On Monday, Garcia hit a solo homer off the batter’s eye in center field. The blast traveled 428 feet and had an exit velocity of 108.8 mph.

It was Garcia’s second home run in three games.

The Royals like what Garcia brings to the table. His speed and defensive versatility will allow him to carve out a meaningful role. Royals manager Matt Quatraro has already utilized Garcia at third base and center field.

If he continues to hit, Garcia could become the fixture the Royals have needed at the bottom of the lineup.

Offense remains stuck in neutral

The Royals seem a bit off at the plate. While Garcia — and leadoff hitter Jonathan India — have provided consistent at-bats, the rest of the offense has sputtered.

On Monday, KC recorded 14 hits in the 11-1 blowout victory. Then, the offense hit a cold spell with just eight hits in 20 innings between Games 2 and 3.

There were chances to break through. However, the Royals failed to capitalize in key moments.

In Tuesday’s game, the Royals brought the go-ahead run to the plate. The Brewers were into their bullpen as Michael Massey stepped up.

Massey faced reliever Jared Koenig with two outs. KC had two runners aboard and Massey grounded out to end the frame. The next inning, Milwaukee scored two additional runs to put the game away.

KC finished 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners stranded in Tuesday’s game.

Things weren’t better on Wednesday. The Royals couldn’t get anything working against the Brewers pitching staff.

The club struck out 14 times and registered four hits in the loss.

The biggest turning point was perhaps Bobby Witt Jr and Vinnie Pasquantino striking out with the go-ahead run aboard in the ninth inning against Brewers closer Trevor Megill.

A positive? Royals bullpen saves day

The Royals bullpen was thrust into a tough spot. In Wednesday’s game, the Brewers had runners on second and third with no outs in a tied game.

KC called upon relievers Angel Zerpa and Lucas Erceg to keep the Brewers from scoring the go-ahead run.

Zerpa, who issued a walk and a double, was in trouble. However, he remained composed and retired Brewers infielder Brice Turang on a groundout.

Next, Erceg emerged from the bullpen. He induced a force play before striking out Brewers pinch hitter Christian Yelich to end the inning.

The Royals bullpen kept the club in Wednesday’s game. There was great work from relievers Hunter Harvey and John Schreiber to keep the game tied. Perhaps the biggest example: Carlos Estevez helped Kansas City survive a controversial balk call that, a couple batters later, led to the bases being loaded with no one out.

Earlier in the series, left-hander Daniel Lynch IV worked quality relief innings to help save the bullpen as well. That area could be improving for this KC team.