Kansas City Royals pitcher Michael Wacha reached career milestone against Twins

Kansas City Royals pitcher Michael Wacha addressed his teammates after Sunday’s victory over the Minnesota Twins.

It was a special moment for the 12-year veteran right-hander. He had just earned his 100th career win after throwing seven shutout innings at Kauffman Stadium.

“We do a little postgame celebration-type stuff and the captain (Salvador Perez) had me talk a little bit,” Wacha said. “Just expressing to them, ‘Hey, the wins get put by my name, but there is a lot of people that contribute to those.’”

Obtained in the offseason, Wacha has spearheaded the Royals’ pitching resurgence in 2024. The club counts on him to provide a professional start every fifth day. Sunday was the third start in which he’s thrown seven or more scoreless innings.

The Twins were unable to break through offensively all afternoon. Wacha avoided trouble in the first inning thanks to a terrific relay and play at the plate — the Twins’ baserunner and would-be scorer was thrown out.

Wacha settled in after that and struck out seven as KC earned a three-game series sweep. He improved to 11-3 with a 2.62 ERA in his last 19 starts. He has allowed two runs or fewer in 15 of those outings.

“I feel like the ball has been coming out good this year,” he said. “Working with our staff here, talking with a bunch of our pitchers and developing new pitches as well. It’s been a lot of playing here.”

Wacha developed a slider and it’s proven to be an effective pitch. It has commanded a 40.3% whiff rate this season and its usage has helped him unlock other pitches.

Wacha’s full pitching arsenal was on display against the Twins. He used his changeup to get 23 swings and 12 whiffs Sunday afternoon.

“The effectiveness of his fastball had extra carry and his changeup was outstanding,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “… Credit to him, he’s had a great career.”

Wacha is the 20th active pitcher to reach 100 career wins.

“It’s super special, especially for him,” Perez said. “We know what kind of pitcher he is. He likes to compete and he likes to play hard. And he does everything to try to help the team to win.”

The Royals concluded their six-game homestand with four wins. Wacha is in line to pitch next weekend against the Pirates at PNC Park in Pittsburgh after a series in New York against the Yankees.