The Kansas City Royals got a final look at right-handed starter Stephen Kolek on Wednesday night against the Los Angeles Angels.
Kolek, who made his fifth start with the Royals, has certainly impressed this season. He arrived at the 2025 MLB trade deadline from the San Diego Padres. At the time, the Royals were excited to get a young, controllable arm for the future.
Kolek was pressed into action due to injuries. Since joining the Royals, he’s posted a 1.67 ERA in 27 innings pitched.
“There’s been a lot of really good input,” Kolek said. “And I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a person and as a pitcher. Just my arsenal and everything. It’s been constantly getting better.”
On Wednesday, Kolek showed a different side of his repertoire. He wasn’t as sharp against the Angels and had to overcome a bit of adversity. The Royals committed three errors — including one by Kolek — but he kept the team in the game.
Kolek battled through six innings while allowing three runs on five hits. He tossed 63 of 94 pitches for strikes and registered six strikeouts in the Royals’ 3-2 loss.
“It was a grind,” Kolek said. “Didn’t feel like I was timing up well through the first four innings. I figured out kind of what I was doing in the fifth and started to get in a little bit of a rhythm there.”
The Angels did their damage early. Taylor Ward belted his 36th home run as Oswald Peraza collected an RBI. In the fourth inning, Los Angeles got a run on Kolek’s throwing error that sailed into center field.
The Royals will enter the offseason with ample starting pitching depth. Kolek — alongside Ryan Bergert, Noah Cameron and others — will be in consideration for a rotation spot in spring training.
“I have a pretty high standard for myself and what I can do,” Kolek said. “And I felt like I was far short of that tonight. But to still be able to get a quality start out of it is a good feeling. (Just) knowing that whenever you don’t have your good stuff, you can still go out and put up six innings and give our team a chance.”
A quality start to finish the 2025 campaign is an impressive feat and something for Kolek to build upon heading into the next year.
“He should have a lot of confidence,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “I think that’s five really good starts for him. It’s been great to get him up here.
“You know, any time somebody comes up, it’s unfortunate in a way because in most cases, it’s injury based. But at the same time, he took advantage of his opportunity and did a great job. There is a lot to like with what we saw with him.”
Royals’ offense starts slow
The Royals saw a familiar face on Wednesday night. Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi arrived with his best command and looked dominant through five innings.
Kikuchi allowed one hit and struck out six batters. The Royals recorded one baserunner through four innings as Kikuchi navigated the lineup with precision. KC outfielder Randal Grichuk broke up an early no-hit bid with a solo homer in the fifth inning.
“I feel like I had a couple of good swings the last couple of days,” Grichuk said. “Felt good and luckily able to get that one.”
It was his second home run since joining the Royals at the trade deadline. The Royals started to find an offensive rhythm after Kikuchi exited prior to the sixth inning with a left forearm cramp.
“I’ve seen that guy pitch a lot and he’s always pitched well,” Quatraro said. “You know, it’s a fastball that rides and he got it to the top of the zone. You saw a bunch of popups. We hit some balls hard on the ground, but we didn’t do enough to square it up or string them together.”
The Royals generated a late rally in the seventh. Mike Yastrzemski got aboard after being hit by a pitch. He later scored as Carter Jensen added a pinch-hit RBI single. Jensen now has 14 hits and 12 RBIs in his first 16 games.
However, the Angels held the Royals at an arm’s length. A double play ended another scoring opportunity in the eighth inning and the Royals couldn’t scratch across the tying run in the final frame.
The Royals (79-79) dropped to .500 this season. They must win three of their final four games to end the 2025 campaign with a winning record.
“Just finish strong as a team,” Grichuk said. “Individually, nobody wants to have a losing record. So, we are going to keep going out there to compete and give it our all to try to win every ballgame, regardless of the situation.”
What’s next: Royals veteran pitcher Michael Lorenzen (6-11, 4.70 ERA) will start Wednesday’s series finale against the Angels. He will oppose Angels left-hander Mitch Farris (1-2, 6.52) with first pitch set for 8:38 p.m. Central.