'He's a workhorse': Lyles tosses 112-pitch complete game 

KANSAS CITY -- If the Royals wanted innings out of Jordan Lyles when they signed him to a two-year deal this offseason, he gave them all he could Tuesday night.

Lyles threw a complete game on 112 pitches following a two-hour rain delay at Kauffman Stadium. He commanded the zone for the majority of his start and had stellar defense to back him up, including a ridiculous diving stop and throw from shallow left field by Bobby Witt Jr. in the fifth inning.

Yet Lyles is still looking for his first win of the season.

The Royals couldn’t capitalize on a bases-loaded situation against White Sox starter Lucas Giolito in Kansas City's 4-2 loss against Chicago, handing Lyles his sixth loss of the season, which is tied for most in baseball. The Royals are 0-8 in his starts this season -- and they’ve supported him with two runs or fewer in six of his eight outings.

“[He’s a] workhorse,” Witt said. “Saved the bullpen. Filled up the zone from pitch one. That’s what he does, so it’s a lot of fun to be out there and watch and hopefully make plays for him. He’s up there grinding, so that’s what we got to do. Hopefully we can keep working and get him a win.”

After he threw 180 innings the past two seasons, the Royals signed Lyles to eat as many innings as possible. He’s now given them 49 1/3 innings -- seventh-most in the Majors -- although his 6.20 ERA is second-worst in baseball among qualified pitchers. Tuesday was his third career complete game and the Royals’ first nine-inning complete game since Brad Keller’s shutout on Sept. 13, 2020 against Pittsburgh. Lyles is the first Royal to suffer a loss in a complete game since Keller in ‘18 against Seattle (eight innings) and the first to do it in nine innings since James Shields in ‘13 against Toronto.

“[Lyles] always wants the next inning, whether he pitches five, six, seven, eight,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “He always wants one more. … That’s a huge thing for us to refresh the bullpen. And at the same time, he gave us a chance to win the game, too.”

Lyles retired the first 11 batters before Luis Robert Jr.’s solo homer in the fourth tied the game. Andrew Vaughn’s two-run homer broke the tie in the sixth. Lyles has allowed a Major League-most 13 home runs this season, including multiple home runs in six of his eight starts.

“The homer to Vaughn was a really good pitch,” Lyles said. “I threw it where I wanted to, I didn’t want to go on the plate with it. Trying to jam him with a guy on third with two outs. Good hitter put a good swing on it right there.

“They made me pay on a couple of bad breaking balls, and next thing you know, that’s all they needed.”

The Royals could not replicate the offensive outburst they’ve shown this homestand against Giolito. In the sixth, Witt led off with a triple -- going from home to third in 11.09 seconds (30.2 ft./sec. sprint speed) -- and scored on Vinnie Pasquantino’s RBI single. With one out, Maikel Garcia and MJ Melendez walked, but the Royals' bottom of the order couldn’t come through. Hunter Dozier hit a weak infield popup, and Freddy Fermin grounded out.

Lyles stayed the course and was efficient all night, a much-needed start for the Royals’ overworked bullpen. In his start against Baltimore last Thursday, Lyles walked two, hit one and threw two wild pitches. He needed 102 pitches to get through five innings.

Lyles was at 101 pitches after eight innings Tuesday.

“They were swinging early, I was throwing strikes early,” Lyles said. “I think we fell behind, maybe two three-ball counts all night. Just overall, I was in the zone a little bit more.”

Lyles relied on his sweeper and curveball to get the chase he needed but relied more on good defense behind him. Witt’s play in the fifth was a highlight-reel play, including the pick by Pasquantino at first.

From shallow left field, Witt threw the ball 82.6 mph to first base to get Hanser Alberto out.

“Not only was it a great play, but it was the leadoff guy of the inning,” Lyles said. “Guy on first with no outs versus a great play, one out and no one on. … That was just a big part of the game. He’s one of the better infielders in baseball, one of the fastest, quickest. Plus he has a great arm.”