Lugo's Seven Dominant Innings Buried by Lange's Five-Run Twelfth

Seth Lugo walked four Baltimore batters in seven innings and still allowed only one hit. The Kansas City starter struck out seven, worked 93 pitches at 13.3 per inning, and left after the seventh with a 1-0 lead. The bullpen got the ball needing nine outs.

It needed 18 innings to finish the game.

Royals first baseman Jac Caglianone had given Kansas City everything it needed in the bottom of the second, sending a fly ball to center for his first home run of the season. Lugo made that one run look enormous, permitting only a single hit the rest of his seven frames while striking out seven Orioles. When he exited after the seventh, the Royals held a 1-0 lead.

Matt Strahm took the eighth at a leverage index of 2.10 and was perfect — striking out Baltimore's Weston Wilson, Leody Taveras, and Blaze Alexander in order on 20 pitches.

Then Lucas Erceg walked three batters in the ninth. Gunnar Henderson led off with a walk, Taylor Ward followed, and after Dylan Beavers grounded into a forceout, Pete Alonso drew another free pass to load the bases. Baltimore catcher Samuel Basallo lined a sharp single to center fielder Kyle Isbel, scoring Beavers and sending Alonso to third. Erceg escaped further damage when Jeremiah Jackson grounded into a forceout, but the tie was in. Kansas City had burned 32 pitches from its closer to survive the ninth at 1-1.

Daniel Lynch IV bridged through the tenth cleanly, striking out two and retiring the side in order. John Schreiber entered in the eleventh and got two outs before Baltimore's Dylan Beavers lined a single to right fielder Lane Thomas, scoring Blaze Alexander to put the Orioles ahead 2-1. Schreiber stranded the runners after that, and Bobby Witt Jr. answered in the bottom of the eleventh — lining a single to left fielder Taylor Ward to score Isaac Collins and tie the game at two.

The twelfth belonged to Alex Lange, and not in any good way. Basallo opened with a sharp line drive single to left fielder Isaac Collins, scoring Coby Mayo to put Baltimore ahead 3-2 for the first time. Jeremiah Jackson followed with a ground-ball single to left, and Weston Wilson walked to load the bases. Leody Taveras then hit his second grand slam of the season to center field, scoring Basallo, Jackson, and Wilson. Baltimore led 7-2.

Lange struck out the final two batters and got a flyout, but the damage was done — five runs on three hits and a walk, 31 pitches, a grand slam that finished the night.

Kansas City's Nick Loftin doubled in the bottom of the twelfth, a ground ball to left fielder Taylor Ward that scored Vinnie Pasquantino, Salvador Perez, and Lane Thomas to bring the final to 7-5. Three runs on one swing, but three innings too late.

Lugo held Baltimore to one hit over seven innings and handed a lead to a bullpen that walked six batters and served up a grand slam. The relievers after Strahm combined for seven runs on five hits. Whether Erceg's three walks in the ninth or Lange's implosion in the twelfth was the more damaging failure is the only debate left — Lugo's part of the night gave Kansas City every reason to win.