Kolek (3-1) was tagged with the loss Friday against the Rangers after allowing six runs (four earned) on six hits and a walk across five innings. He struck out five.
Kolek tossed 60 of his 91 pitches for strikes, but he was a victim of a rough start and had given up four runs, including a two-run homer to Brandon Nimmo, before the end of the first inning. He settled down afterwards, but Kolek didn't receive support from an offense that mustered just one run throughout the game. Despite this subpar outing, Kolek remains a reliable arm in the Royals' rotation with a 3.48 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in five starts so far. He's slated to make his next start next week on the road against the Reds.