Royals vs Rays Recap: Loftin, Caglianone Shine in 12-5 Rout

The Royals came to Tampa wanting to bounce back. They'd lost the night before 2-1, and now they faced Shane McClanahan on the mound for Tampa Bay. But Kansas City struck first and struck hard. Nick Loftin ripped a 403-foot bomb to left field off a McClanahan curve ball. One pitch later, Jac Caglianone—the young slugger with raw power—crushed a 443-foot rocket to right. Just like that, the Royals led 2-0 before the first inning ended. The Rays answered back when Junior Caminero singled to center, scoring a run. But Kansas City already had momentum rolling. The Royals' bats were alive and hungry for this game.

The Royals kept pounding the ball as the game went on. In the fifth inning, Tyler Tolbert laid down a sacrifice bunt. A throwing error by McClanahan let Massey score and Tolbert reach third base safely. Then Loftin singled to left, bringing Tolbert home. Caglianone crushed another homer—his second of the day—blasting it 416 feet to left center. That made it 6-1. By the eighth inning, Kansas City's bats were on fire. Salvador Perez doubled to center, scoring two runs. Starling Marte sacrificed to right, bringing Perez home. Then Kameron Misner doubled to right, and a wild pitch by Steven Matz scored Tolbert. The Rays couldn't keep up with the Kansas City onslaught.

The Royals kept scoring right through the ninth inning. Josh Rojas doubled to center, bringing Loftin home and making it 12-2. The Rays tried to answer back. Junior Caminero homered to left center in the eighth for Tampa Bay. Jonathan Aranda singled, scoring another run in the ninth. Cedric Mullins singled to left, bringing home a second run. Caminero singled again, scoring Aranda. But Kansas City's 12 runs were simply too many for Tampa Bay to chase down. The final score: Royals 12, Rays 5. Kansas City improved to 34-46 overall. Tampa Bay dropped to 43-32 with this loss. The Royals' bats exploded in a huge road victory.