Royals' veteran starting duo lived up to expectations despite series loss vs. Braves

The first series of the season is behind us and unfortunately for the Kansas City Royals, a 1-2 record likely isn't what they had in mind.

Their offense looked largely uninspiring like it did last season and they have some real questions in their bullpen after Carlos Estévez continued to make the fanbase nervous - and could be on the verge of losing his closer's role.

However, it hasn't been all doom and gloom to start the year. The Royals will at least enter their home opener on Monday with a bit of momentum after a 4-1 victory on Sunday. And it's been a usual suspect that's looked like it's usual strong self.

The rotation.

And not just any part of the rotation, it's been Kansas City's veteran duo of Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo who've lived up to lofty expectations placed upon them to start the year.

Michael Wacha and Seth Lugo were instrumental in salvaging Royals' opening series vs. Braves

After ace Cole Ragans looked shaky in his first start of the year on Opening Day, surrendering three homers and being chased after just 4.0 innings of work, the veteran duo of Wacha and Lugo came up big like they have for a majority of their tenure with the Royals.

While Kansas City may've lost Saturday's contest, it was not to the fault of Wacha, as the 34-year-olf grizzled veteran handled the Braves lineup with ease. In 6.0 innings of scoreless ball, Wacha would surrender just three hits and one walk while striking out seven.

Then on Sunday, the Royals claimed victory off the back of a Seth Lugo masterclass. Pitching into the seventh - he went 6.1 innings, Lugo went scoreless while surrendering just five hits, no walks and racking up three strikeouts.

A rotation is only as strong as it's depth, and with Ragans in search of a bounce-back following an injury-ridden 2025 season, veteran rocks like Wacha and Lugo needed to be the stabilizing forces Royals fans have become accustomed to seeing.

And what's even more encouraging is the fact that there were lofty expectations that both of these names that they lived up to right off the hop.

Wacha had posted four-straight sub-4.00 ERA seasons and in his age-35 campaign, he's all but likely entering (if not already in) the twilight years of his career. So, the fact he's firmly in his mid-30s with expected numbers from a year ago that weren't ideal, there may've been some worry as to whether or not he could be that same rock he'd been the last two years for them.

Lugo on the other hand had reached the peak of his career with an AL Cy Young runner-up finish in 2024 and then looked just as good in the first half of 2025. However, after receiving his extension last summer, the wheels started to fall of in the second-half of the season leaving many to wonder if the Lugo of old was still in there.

Now, one game isn't enough to make any definitive conclusions by any means. However, good starts are always key in baseball and Wacha and Lugo certainly started their years on the right note.

And if this opening series is any indication of what the offense will like in 2026, the rotation needs to be at the peak of it's powers like this if the Royals are going to have any shot of making it back to the postseason.