Seth Lugo pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, and Carter Jensen homered as the Kansas City Royals defeated the Atlanta Braves 4-1 on Sunday.
Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino contributed RBI singles for the Royals. The Royals had blown a ninth-inning lead a day earlier, but managed to avoid a series sweep against the Braves.
Jensen’s Home Run and Lugo’s Performance
Jensen went 1 for 3 with two RBI. He added a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning to his solo home run in the fourth.
Lugo (1-0) allowed five hits, striking out three and walking none. He threw 55 of his 77 pitches for strikes. Lugo survived three deep fly balls with exit velocities all over 105 mph from Ronald Acuña Jr., Matt Olson and Michael Harris II that were caught up against the outfield wall.
Braves’ Offense and Pitching
Drake Baldwin hit a solo home run to right field with the Braves trailing 4-0 in the eighth inning.
Braves starter Grant Holmes (0-1) gave up three runs in five innings with two walks and four strikeouts. Didier Fuentes, a 20-year-old rookie, gave up one run in four innings in relief of Holmes.
Injuries and Upcoming Games
Lucas Erceg picked up the save for the Royals with a scoreless ninth inning.
Royals closer Carlos Estévez was hit in the ankle during Saturday night’s blown save and was in a walking boot Sunday morning. X-rays were negative, although Royals manager Matt Quatraro said it was the ankle that would keep Estévez out Sunday.
- LHP Kris Bubic will face the Minnesota Twins in the Royals’ 2026 home opener on Monday.
- RHP Bryce Elder will oppose Athletics RHP Aaron Civale in the opener of a three-game series in Atlanta on Monday.
Witt had five hits in the series.