Four runs on four solo homers. He’s the first person to do that (allowing four homers and only four runs) since Kevin Gausman against the Mariners on July 22, 2023. The Royals haven’t had it happen recently, but on May 9, 2016, Chris Young, who was finishing up his career in Kansas City, gave up five runs on five homers, also against the Yankees. Lugo had allowed just one homer in three starts coming into the night. He fell to 1-2 with a 3.86 ERA ahead of this weekend’s outing against the Tigers.

Lugo also walked three and struck out six on the day, registering a 29 percent whiff rate and 32 percent CSW. Lugo looked good for most of the day, but he just had trouble finding the zone with a few of his offerings. He’s still the same solid arm with endless pitches and can be fired up in a decent two-start week against the Yankees and Tigers.

Lugo is such a throwback. He worked his way to a quality start in this one and forced just two swings-and-misses along the way. Yes, only two. The first was on the very first pitch of the game: a 90 MPH fastball right down the middle to Gunnar Henderson in his first plate appearance off the injured list. The next, also against Henderson, was a curveball in the dirt to strike him out in the fifth. Otherwise, the Orioles seemed to be on Lugo with 12 hard-hit balls. Nearly every one found a glove though as he mixed his seven pitches just enough to consistently avoid any real damage. He’s scheduled to face the Twins next time out.

Lugo, the 2024 AL Cy Young runner-up, struggled with his control early, but two caught stealings really helped his cause, and he got better as the game went along. He’s slated to make his second start Friday against the Orioles