Royals' Seth Lugo focused on key pitch this offseason. It paid off vs. Braves

Jaylon Thompson, The Kansas City Star on Mar 29, 2026

Published in Baseball

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This offseason, Kansas City Royals starter Seth Lugo focused on improving his fastball.

The goal was to command it early in counts and challenge hitters. If successful, Lugo felt it would keep teams from sitting on his off-speed pitches.

As a result, he could create a little balance.

On Sunday, Lugo put his reworked approach to good use. He tossed 6 1/3 innings against the Atlanta Braves in the Royals’ 4-1 victory at Truist Park.

“You know, it’s huge,” Lugo said. “Last thing we wanted was to get swept here before we have our home opener. So, you know, get the first one out of the way, and now we are rolling.”

Lugo had a 23% fastball usage his first time through the Braves’ lineup. The reworked fastball registered a 57% strike rate and generated four swings and four called strikes — per Statcast.

The Braves couldn’t capitalize. Lugo limited the club to five hits in an efficient outing.

“When I get to showing too many off-speed (pitches) early, that kind of hurts me later in the game,” Lugo said. “So, getting by with majority fastballs in the first few innings, I think that helped me get into the seventh.”

The lone trouble came in the fifth inning. The Braves had runners on first and third with two outs.

Lugo surrendered singles to Ozzie Albies and Dominic Smith but retired Jorge Mateo to end the frame. Lugo earned his first win and quality start of 2026. The Royals also provided him substantial run support.

In the third inning, Bobby Witt Jr. drove home Nick Loftin, who reached on a fielder’s choice two batters earlier.

Rookie catcher Carter Jensen extended the lead. He belted a solo homer off Braves starter Grant Holmes in the fourth inning. Jensen added a sacrifice fly in the eighth as Witt scored from third.

“Everybody did their part today,” Jensen said. “Everybody came in with a fresh mindset and it showed out there.”

The Royals did damage with two outs. Both Witt and Vinnie Pasquantino picked up RBIs with runners in scoring position.

“For Vinnie to come through with the two strikes there (was huge),” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Bobby gets us on the board, and that at-bat from Carter, with the sac fly, was huge. With being to two strikes and that guy’s throwing 100 with the splitter. So, that was really impressive.”

The Braves scored a late run in the eighth. Catcher Drake Baldwin hit a solo homer off John Schreiber to spoil the shutout.

However, the four runs helped KC salvage the three-game series. After being outscored 12-2 prior to Sunday, the Royals’ offense came through in clutch moments.

And Lucas Erceg put it away with his first save. He closed the game with Carlos Estévez not available after being hit on the left ankle Saturday night.

“Coming in to close a game is really fun,” Erceg said. “So I’m glad I was able to do that.”

The victory continued a trend of strong play in series finales. The Royals were 33-19 in such situations last year, third-best in the majors.

“This is the fun part,” Witt said. “It’s early in the year and now everyone can find themselves and be in a good spot.”

What’s ahead: The Royals return to Kansas City ahead of their home opener against the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium. Left-hander Kris Bubic will draw the start. First pitch is set for 3:10 p.m. Central.

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