Royals' offense erupts with fireworks in series-opening win vs. Diamondbacks

Jaylon Thompson, The Kansas City Star on Jul 5, 2025

Published in Baseball

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Fans who attended Chase Field on Friday night were promised fireworks in celebration of the Fourth of July.

Little did they know their ticket would include an additional show.

The Kansas City Royals rolled into town sitting on a powder keg. Their dormant offense needed the right environment to ignite and the right player to light a spark.

Vinnie Pasquantino answered the call in the Royals’ 9-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks. He hit two home runs and recorded a career-high six RBIs.

The rest of the Royals followed suit.

KC attacked D-backs starter Eduardo Rodriguez. All nine Royals starters recorded at least one hit. Pasquantino hit a three-run homer in the first inning and followed with a two-run shot in the fourth.

Mark Canha, who was homerless in 106 at-bats, went deep in the fifth inning. It was his first homer as a member of the Royals.

Rodriguez allowed nine runs (eight earned) in 4 1/3 innings. He surrendered 12 hits despite racking up seven strikeouts. The Royals took advantage of missed locations and gave lefty starter Kris Bubic some much-needed run support.

Bubic didn’t need much to corral the D-backs’ offense. He allowed two earned runs and worked out of potential trouble on several occasions.

Arizona scored two runs in the first inning. Josh Naylor and Eugenio Suarez were responsible for the runs scored. Later, Suarez hit his 28th homer of the season.

From there, Bubic earned a quality start as the Royals (42-47) won their third game in four days.

The D-backs (43-45) dropped their third consecutive game. KC is now 3-2 on its seven-game road trip.

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