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👑 Sunday, April 27 • Baltimore Orioles Series Game 3 👑

Balanced offense and clean execution carry the Royals

Baltimore Orioles at Kansas City Royals | Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy (68°) | Wind blowing out to center (10 mph) | Attendance: 33,543 | First pitch: 1:10 PM CT
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Pregame Memo (Manager's Desk)

Sunday finale and a chance to finish the job clean. The biggest internal note was health: Cole Ragans looked lined up to take his turn tomorrow against Toronto, and that helps us keep the bullpen from getting stretched thin in these longer games. We planned to keep his workload reasonable and have Angel Zerpa ready for coverage since he hadn't appeared since April 19th—one of those quiet reminders that bullpen rhythm matters just as much as raw stuff.

Baltimore Orioles Series Snapshot

Baltimore’s record hasn’t matched their talent, but their top order can surprise you if you’re stuck in the middle of the lineup. We’ve already seen how quickly they can turn a simple inning into a stressful one. The goal today was to throw shutout innings early, make them hit our pitches, and then let our offense chase a big inning the first time their starter faltered.

Series Matchup Board — Game 3

• RHP Zach Eflin vs. RHP Enyel De Los Santos

Eflin’s job was straightforward: pound the zone and keep their left-handed threats from getting extended. De Los Santos had been vulnerable early, so our lineup note was to keep the pressure honest—hard contact early in counts, and don’t waste baserunners.
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Game Day Log — Royals vs. (Game 3)

Inning-by-Inning Beats (Dugout View)

1st
Baltimore landed first. After a quick out, Seiya Suzuki jumped a pitch and hit a solo homer (393 ft). 1–0 Orioles.
Bottom half, we started to settle in—Maikel Garcia walked, then got picked off, and De Los Santos survived the frame. It felt like a “note it, don’t chase it” moment.

2nd
This is where the game swung hard. Salvador Perez doubled, then Davis Schneider punched a single—and we turned it into chaos baseball in the best way: the runner came home safe on the throw, Schneider moved up, and the inning just kept breathing. Nick Pratto added an infield hit, Drew Waters ripped a two-run double, Mark Payton lifted a sac fly, and Kyle Isbel finished it with a two-run homer (377 ft). Five runs, one long rally, and Kauffman got loud. 5–1 Royals.

3rd
Baltimore answered with a little punch-back. Coby Mayo doubled, Sean Bouchard singled, and Suzuki lined an RBI single to cut it to 5–2. Eflin tightened from there and kept the inning from turning into a crooked one.

4th–7th
This stretch belonged to Eflin. He kept dictating counts—ground balls, harmless air, and strikeouts when he needed them. Baltimore had a couple singles and doubles scattered around, but the game never felt like it was slipping because we weren’t handing out free bases.

8th
We added the insurance run with one clean swing: Salvy again—solo homer (405 ft) to push it to 6–2. It wasn’t just the run; it was the tone. That’s a veteran making sure the opponent doesn’t get ideas late.

9th
Jacob Lopez finished the close with a calm ninth—one hit allowed, no damage, and the last out secured without drama.
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Final

Royals 6, Orioles 2
Royals (8 H, 0 E) | Orioles (7 H, 0 E)

The Kansas City Royals picked up a win at Kauffman Stadium, taking down the Baltimore Orioles, 6-2. The win puts Kansas City at 17-5.

Starting pitcher Zach Eflin was Player of the Game for a reason: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 8 K—he kept their lineup from getting any second chances. Lopez handled a 2.0-inning save to keep the bullpen math clean.

"Zach was dictating to their hitters," said Kansas City manager Todd "BigP" Pollard.

Davis Schneider, who is tied for 2nd in the AL in doubles with 9, helped the Kansas City cause in the bottom of the second inning with a run-scoring single. For the game, the third baseman was 1 for 4.

Kansas City Pitching Scoreline
Pitcher                 Dec        IP    H    R   ER   BB    K   HR    PI   ERA
Z. Eflin                W (3-0)   7.0    6    2    2    0    8    1    96   1.29
J. Lopez                SV (1)    2.0    1    0    0    0    1    0    22   0.00

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Front Office Note / Takeaways

The win was built on two foundations: one big inning and a starter who never let the opponent get comfortable. That second inning was a textbook rally—extra-base hit, traffic, productive contact, and the finishing blow (Isbel) that turns a game from “tight” to “ours.”

The more subdued note involves Vinnie Pasquantino—his nine-game hit streak ended tonight. He’s been a key part of early-season run production, with 22 RBIs and a .347 batting average, and one-off day doesn't alter the overall trend. Still, it's a good checkpoint: we perform best when the lineup isn’t dependent on one bat staying hot continuously. We'll take this series win, keep Ragans' return plan on track, and head into Toronto with momentum and a bullpen that's still strong.

Figure 2. Vinnie Pasquantino — 9-Game Run Streak Milestone.



A small badge, but a meaningful one: Pasquantino’s nine-game run streak reflects how consistently he’s been in the middle of the action as the offense stays active.

Around the League

No extra noise worth chasing today—the most relevant “news” was us taking care of home field and banking another series. One note from the opposing dugout: Jordan Westburg left the game after being injured while running the bases.
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👑 FOR THE CROWN — ALWAYS 👑

Kansas City Royals | Regular Season 2025 - Game 22



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