KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Kansas City Royals played their final regular-season game at Kauffman Stadium on Sunday afternoon in front of 32,936 fans.

Despite the great turnout, the Royals fell 8-5 to the Toronto Blue Jays in their home finale. The loss hurt their slim chance of making the postseason and prevented them from closing out their final homestand of the year with a series sweep.

The Blue Jays came out swinging against Royals starting pitcher Michael Wacha. In the second inning, Wacha allowed three runs while navigating the bottom of the order. Toronto’s Andres Gimenez and Tyler Heineman each recorded RBIs before George Springer extended the lead with an RBI double.

Wacha didn’t have his best command. He allowed six runs and eight hits in five innings while striking out four batters.

“Just a couple of innings there where I couldn’t limit the big innings,” Wacha said. “Keep them to one or two in those innings and we got a chance there. Gave them that early lead, big number there ... credit to our guys for fighting back in there to make it a game.”

The Royals had to fight from behind and the offense didn’t find a rhythm until the fourth inning, when rookie catcher Carter Jensen drove in two runs with a single. He has 11 RBIs since arriving from Triple-A Omaha earlier this month.

“He looks like a good player which we thought he was,” Quatraro said of Jensen. “But to come up and do it right away, that’s not usually the way it goes. You know, for most guys, it takes a little time. So, it’s encouraging and really fun to watch.”

An inning later, Royals All-Stars Maikel Garcia and Salvador Perez added RBI singles. It was the 1,012th career RBI for Perez, moving him into a tie with Royals Hall of Famer Hal McRae for second-most in franchise history.

However, the Blue Jays refused to relinquish the lead. Toronto added two insurance runs in the eighth inning to secure the victory.

“The shutdown inning didn’t go the way I was planning on it going,” Wacha said. “Just ended up giving it right back to them. Yeah, it was a tough one.”

The Royals (78-78) finished 43-38 at The K and will now complete the remainder of the season with a six-game road trip. Kansas City must win four of the last six games to finish with a winning record.

“We are just going to try to win on Tuesday and go from there,” Witt said.

Seth Lugo injury update

The Royals will not have All-Star pitcher Seth Lugo for the final stretch of the 2025 season.

Lugo, who is currently on the 15-day injured list with a lower-back strain, will be shut down for the remaining six games.

Lugo attempted to make a final start, but his back didn’t respond to a recent bullpen session at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals continued to monitor his progress, but manager Matt Quatraro said it was a “longshot” for him to return.

On Sunday, Quatraro confirmed Lugo is still dealing with symptoms.

“He’s not going to pitch again,” Quatraro said. “It’s not getting better quickly enough to do anything meaningful for him to come out here and force it. So he is going to be shut down.”

Lugo finishes the season with a 4.15 ERA in 26 starts. He pitched 145 1/3 innings, recording 125 strikeouts and 55 walks.

Royals prepare for final road trip

The Royals will finish their season with a West Coast swing. On Tuesday, Kansas City will begin a six-game road trip against the Los Angeles Angels.

Royals ace Cole Ragans will pitch in Tuesday’s series opener at Angel Stadium. Stephen Kolek and Michael Lorenzen will follow in the rotation.

From there, the Royals play their final regular-season games against the Athletics in West Sacramento, Calif.

The Angels won two of three games at Kauffman Stadium earlier this month. The Royals last played the Athletics in June and were swept in three games.

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