Feb 19, 2026; Surprise, AZ, USA; Kansas City Royals pitcher Alex Lange (56) poses for a photo for MLB media day at Surprise Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Allan Henry-Imagn Images | Allan Henry-Imagn Images The Royals have now lost five straight. Those five losses all have a lot in common.

The most obvious similarity is that they were all close games decided in the seventh inning or later. Tonight’s was the first game where they lost by more than a single run. It did, unfortunately, continue the streak of a different reliever blowing the game.

John Schreiber blew it on Sunday, then Nick Mears blew it on Tuesday, Eli Morgan lost it on Wednesday, Lucas Erceg lost it on Thursday, and tonight it was Alex Lange’s turn.Of particular note to me is that Matt Strahm has only pitched in one game this week. It’s not an excuse, but with him unavailable, guys are being forced to pitch innings they otherwise wouldn’t and throwing off routines like that or asking guys to pitch in higher leverage than they’re used to could be a contributing factor. Since we haven’t heard of any injury, I’ve wondered if he (and other pitchers in the bullpen) might be ill and that could be contributing as well.

But we won’t know unless someone asks manager Matt Quatraro and he gives an honest answer.OK, so those are the negatives. I want to spend some time on the positives for a bit before we call it a night.Michael Wacha pitched 6 innings, giving up 2 runs on 6 strikeouts and 3 walks. That raised his ERA to 1.00.

He has been otherworldly good and doesn’t show any signs of stopping.Vinnie Pasquantino hit a home run for the second game in a row. This one was as impressive as some of the outs he hit in Detroit, but we’ll take what we can get.Jac Caglianone struck out three times, but also had a line drive, opposite-field single.Cam Schlittler has been one of the best pitchers in baseball to this point and the Royals forced him to triple his season walk total and to exit the game after 6+ innings by exhibiting patience – especially as the game went on.Carter Jensen didn’t let the pressure of Yankee Stadium or the game situation deter him from walking twice.The losses get easier to bear the more we’re exposed to them.

I’m a lot less frustrated about tonight’s game than I was the last four losses.OK, yeah, that’s probably enough. The Royals will try again to snap the skid tomorrow. Noah Cameron (3.94 ERA, 4.15 SIERA) will face off against Will Warren (2.45 ERA, 3.29 SIERA). Don’t forget it’s an East Coast afternoon game, so first pitch will be at 12:35 Kauffman time.