Vinnie Pasquantino Describes Crucial Injury Update

Kansas City trailed 5-2 going to the bottom of the eighth on Wednesday night at Kauffman Stadium, and then the Royals scored seven times in one frame to beat the Athletics 9-7.

Vinnie Pasquantino was in the middle of almost all of it with a walk, a home run and two singles, and the one that started the comeback was the line drive off the top of the right field wall that drove in the first run of the inning.

He has been back from the injured list for three games now, and he already looks like the hitter Kansas City thought it had in April.

Maikel Garcia opened the frame with a triple off Hayden Juenger, who never recorded an out, and Pasquantino followed with the run-scoring single.

Salvador Perez walked, Carter Jensen flied out deep enough to move Pasquantino to third, and Tyler Tolbert walked to load the bases against Drew Rom.

Kyle Isbel singled in a run, Isaac Collins tied the game with a sacrifice fly, and after the Athletics intentionally walked Bobby Witt Jr., John Rave cleared the bases with a three-run double to right.

Garcia singled home Rave for the ninth run, and Max Muncy hit a two-run homer off Steven Cruz in the ninth that only made the final score look close.

Pasquantino fractured his right hamate bone on June 13 and came back before he was really ready, and fatigue from that same injury sent him back to the injured list at the end of July.

He returned Monday and is 6 for 12 since, and his sixth-inning homer was his first since June 3 at Cincinnati, ending a stretch of 85 at-bats without one.

That swing was also his 500th career hit, making him the 39th player to reach that number with the Royals, and he is now hitting .243 with seven home runs on the season.

"It feels nice to be about as close to [100%] as you can possibly be," Pasquantino said.

That is the part worth paying attention to, because a healthy Pasquantino gives this lineup a real middle.

Garcia is back from the injured list too, and the team gave an update on both players earlier this week.

With both of them in the order, Kansas City has something closer to the group it drew up in spring training, and the eighth inning showed what that can look like when the whole lineup is turning over.

At 54-74 the Royals are not chasing anything in the standings, and Seth Lugo giving up five runs over six innings while carrying a 4.71 ERA is a fair picture of the season.

The pitching staff has been in constant motion, with the club laying out a plan for Tony Gonsolin and calling up a new arm after Lucas Erceg's demotion.

Games like this one still count for something, though, because they tell the front office which pieces belong here in 2027.

Jac Caglianone left in the fifth with right ankle soreness, which opened the door for Rave, and Kansas City can go for a four-game sweep Thursday afternoon before Detroit arrives Friday.