SAN DIEGO -- The Royals went into their road trip on Tuesday with just 46 home runs, the fewest in the Major Leagues.
“The power is tough,” Jonathan India said after the Royals’ 6-5 win over the Padres on Friday night at Petco Park. “Especially playing in Kauffman. We hit so many good balls early in the year that just are not homers, that are homers in other places.”
Through the first four games of their six-game road trip through Texas and San Diego, the Royals have shown that they can indeed hit homers in other places, hitting nine over the last four days.
Salvador Perez and Bobby Witt Jr. went yard a combined three times in Arlington on Tuesday, with Perez accounting for two of them. Maikel Garcia hit one on Wednesday. Then came top prospect Jac Caglianone’s highly anticipated first two homers and another one from Vinnie Pasquantino on Thursday.
The offensive surge continued in the series opener against the Padres. It's no coincidence the Royals are 4-0 on the trip.
Witt wasted no time as the second batter of the game Friday. He chased a couple heaters from Padres starter Nick Pivetta early in the at-bat, but then he got a pitch he liked -- a hanging curveball -- and crushed it over the left-field wall at 111.2 mph exit velocity for his 10th home run of the season, giving the Royals a 1-0 lead.
“It’s always nice to get the lead,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “And when Bobby starts doing stuff -- I mean, he hit some balls really hard tonight -- when he starts doing that consistently, we’re going to be in a good spot.”
India built on that four frames later, when he got on top of an elevated fastball and sent it a Statcast-projected 403 feet to left-center field for a three-run homer that gave Kansas City a commanding four-run lead.
“I was just trying to put something in the air. Just get an RBI, just get a run in,” India said. “Missed the first fastball; I just had to get started a little earlier. He throws another one, I’m not going to miss it.”
Those two home runs provided some crucial run support for starter Michael Lorenzen, who felt like he made his share of mistakes late in his 5 1/3-inning outing as he gave up two runs.
The Padres later rallied to tie the game before Perez and Drew Waters drove in the final two runs needed to secure a victory in the top of the eighth.
“The three-run homer is big,” Quatraro said. “We talked about that. It’s been a long time for us. The two of them in this road trip are big. And then it’s nice to be able to do it the other way, too. You get two runs without a home run off of [Padres reliever Jason] Adam there, which is tough to do because you see his numbers are outstanding.”
The Royals struggling with power isn’t necessarily a new or worrying phenomenon. While Kauffman Stadium’s spacious outfield is perfect for lining doubles and triples into the alleys, it isn’t known for home runs. From 2023-25, the only ballparks that have seen fewer deep balls are PNC Park and Oracle Park. Garcia has noticed that trend himself.
“It’s easier to hit home runs when we leave Kansas City,” Garcia said in Spanish. “The stadiums are smaller. We’re just trying to follow the game plan and put the ball in play, and we’ve been able to hit good home runs that way.”
Witt agrees. He’s not trying or looking to do too much, just trying to put his barrel on the ball.
“It’s just trust in our abilities, trust in our work and our preparation and not trying to do anything else,” Witt said. “Not trying to hit homers -- they’re just happening.”
Even if they’re not looking to swing for the fences, Witt pointed out that this version of the Royals is what they can be when they’re at their best.
“This is the way we play games,” Witt said. “This is the way we do things. This is our type of baseball.”