'Here for a reason': Caglianone continuing to learn on MLB stage

KANSAS CITY -- The ninth inning Friday was set up to go the Royals’ way, even after Bobby Witt Jr. voiced his displeasure with the strike three call that led off the inning. The next three batters reached base, with Maikel Garcia’s single, Vinnie Pasquantino’s walk and Salvador Perez’s bloop single. With one out, Pasquantino represented the winning run.

That brought up Jac Caglianone, the Royals’ top prospect eager to help his team win and deliver in a massive moment.

Instead, Caglianone grounded into a double play on the first pitch he saw from Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott. Not even a tumbling Freddie Freeman at first base could give the Royals a break, as Freeman held onto the ball in the tip of his glove for the game-ending out.

The Royals dropped their sixth consecutive game with a 5-4 loss to the Dodgers on Friday at Kauffman Stadium. Not since May 31 have the Royals won a game at The K, and their stretch of 11 consecutive home losses matches a franchise record that has been done twice (Sept. 21, 2011-April 23, 2012, and April 4-May 2, 2023).

Friday’s game was a lot closer and more competitive than earlier this week, with the Royals scoring more runs than they did in the previous three games combined. And they had chances for the game-winning run.

The ninth inning and even the seventh inning, when he struck out with runners on first and second with two outs, were learning moments for the 22-year-old Caglianone.

“It sucks,” Caglianone said. “Just got to remember it. Attack it differently next time.”

He was presumably amped up -- understandably and rightfully so. He had a packed stadium behind him and the potential to snap a losing streak on the line. He’s also itching to get his bat going; since his debut, Caglianone is 14-for-78 (.179) with a .524 OPS in 21 big league games.

“Calm down a little bit,” Perez said. “Super young, excited, he’s going to learn. He’s going to be one of the best in this game. You guys saw what he did in the Minor Leagues. I don’t have any [doubt] that he’s going to be one of the best.”

Perez thought Caglianone could have taken the first pitch, which was a slider from the lefty Scott up and just out of the zone. Scott had just thrown Pasquantino, a lefty like Caglianone, four consecutive balls.

“But it's 50-50. Baseball’s crazy,” Perez said. “Because if he hangs that slider, [Caglianone] hits a double, and he walked it off, he’s the hero. But because it was a ball, some people are going to say something. But he just learns. He needs to be ready for a pitch in the strike zone and try to do his job.”

The Royals promoted Caglianone earlier this month after just 355 Minor League plate appearances between last year and this year. He was ready after mashing 15 homers in 50 games this season with a .982 OPS between Double-A and Triple-A.

But they knew there might be challenges, and they knew he’d have to adjust. That’s why the Royals are going to be patient with Caglianone, who has a 47.4 percent hard-hit rate and whose strength has the potential to carry a lineup.

“We have Jac Caglianone up here for a reason,” general manager J.J. Picollo said earlier this week. “Jac’s going to continue to settle in. Right now, his expected numbers are far greater than his actual numbers just based on how hard he’s hitting the ball. We have a lot of reason to believe that he’s going to be a little more lucky here moving forward, doing what he’s doing.”

As much as the Royals are trying to win in the Majors, they’re also developing young players here, too. That includes rookie hitters Caglianone and John Rave. It includes Friday’s starter, Noah Cameron, who was tagged with five runs on three hits in four-plus innings.

The hits he gave up were two homers -- including a leadoff shot to Shohei Ohtani -- and a triple, which came from Ohtani, too. Walks preceded Max Muncy’s homer and Ohtani’s triple.

Friday was Cameron’s ninth career start, and he’s experienced a lot in the two months he’s been in the big leagues. He took a no-hitter deep into his debut, he made history in his first five starts, he saw how hitters have adjusted to him and now, he’s trying to adjust back.

“I think when you do bad, you definitely remember it a little more,” Cameron said. “You try to remember the good things -- but also just learn. You’re facing the best hitters in the world. You can’t make mistakes to those guys.”