KC Royals silence red-hot Astros as Seth Lugo shows All-Star days aren't behind him

The Kansas City Royals entered Friday's contest riding a serious wave of momentum following a series sweep over the Colorado Rockies during the week to extend their hitting streak to four games. However, as hot as the Royals had been, the Houston Astros had been just as hot, coming off a series sweep of their own against Toronto and winning seven of their last 10 contests.

But the Royals quashed any doubt that they weren't up to the task of taking on one of the American League's toughest opponents, as they dismantled the Astros in a 2-0 victory on the back of a special performance from Seth Lugo.

Seth Lugo shows All-Star days aren't behind him in KC Royals 2-0 victory

After a stellar 3.00 ERA campaign for Lugo in 2024, where he made his first career All-Star appearance and went on to finish second in AL Cy Young voting, expectations were sky high for the 35-year-old veteran. entering 2025.

But through his first five starts of the new season, he didn't look quite as sharp as he had the year prior. Through 30 innings, Lugo had posted just a 3.90 ERA, 5.42 FIP, 1.23 WHIP and .239 BAA. Putting the high FIP aside, Lugo's season looked closer to his just solid 2021 through 2023 seasons as opposed to his great 2024 campaign.

And from a start-by-start perspective, outings like 6 2/3 innings of five-hit and three-run ball on April 19 or 6 2/3 innings of seven-hit and four-run ball on April 14, aren't completely horrible but aren't confidence-inspiring either.

Seeing all of this, while Royals fans will always be happy to have a solid innings eater like Lugo, it wouldn't be wrong of them to wonder whether his All-Star days were behind him.

Lugo however - on the heels of being named to Puerto Rico's 2026 WBC roster earlier in the week - put all that to rest with a commanding outing on Friday night, as the Cy Young caliber arm from a year ago was on full display for the Kauffman faithful.

He put up eight innings of shutout ball to grab the win, surrendering just three hits and one walk while striking out a season-high eight hitters in the process.

While the Royals bats seemed to revert back to their low-scoring selves on Friday, Lugo took over which is something Kansas City was hoping to see from their starters during last week's difficult six-game losing streak.

Not only was Lugo's start a relief for the entire team tonight, but with a bit of uncertainty surrounding Ragans and his health at the moment, after leaving his start pre-maturely on Thursday, having their other All-Star in the rotation step up immediately afterwards is surely a comforting feeling, as this rotation looks to remain one of the strongest in MLB this season.