KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The Royals made Clay Holmes' debut with the Chicago Cubs a forgettable affair Saturday night, hammering him for four runs in his return from the injured list, while Jac Calgianone helped to power Kansas City to a 6-3 victory.
Caglianone hit two homers, two doubles and finished with four RBIs for the Royals. Josh Rojas also had a pair of RBIs.
Seth Lugo (5-7) out-shined Holmes with his eight-pitch repertoire, which included a
looping 65 mph curve that fanned MVP candidate Pete Crow-Armstrong. Lugo wound up allowing three runs on five hits and a walk over six innings, striking out five.
Nate Pearson handled the ninth against his former team to pick up his second save of the season.
Holmes (4-5) last started a big league game May 15, when he was still with the Mets, and a 111 mph liner from the Yankees’ Spencer Jones fractured his right fibula. He was in the midst of making rehab starts when the Cubs traded for him earlier this week.
Holmes needed 70 pitches to go four innings, allowing six hits and two walks while striking out one.
Caglianone gave the Royals to a 1-0 lead with his first-inning homer, a shot to right-center that went an estimated 448 feet. Rojas added a two-run single in the second, after a sacrifice bunt by Nick Loftin had advanced the runners, and Caglianone's double in the third was enough to score Bobby Witt Jr. from first base and make it 4-0.
Carson Kelly halved the lead with a two-out double in the fourth, and Ian Happ's two-out homer made it 4-3 in the sixth. But the Cubs squandered a chance when the Royals' John Schreiber struck out Seiya Suzuki with two aboard in the seventh.
Caglianone added his second homer in the bottom half of the inning to give the Royals some breathing room.
LHP Matthew Boyd (7-1, 3.59) tries to win his eighth consecutive decision Sunday when he takes the mound for the Cubs in the series finale. RHP Randy Dobnak (2-0, 1.16) tries to continue his resurgence when he makes the start for Kansas City.
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