Kansas

Kansas City Royals pitcher Michael Wacha reached career milestone against Twins

Published

1 year ago

September 8, 2024

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.

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Kansas

Former Kansas high school wrestling coach charged with producing child pornography

Published

3 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Former Kansas high school wrestling coach charged with producing child pornography

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH) – A former Kansas wrestling coach was charged with creating child sexual abuse materials by secretly recording minors showering during an athletic competition.

According to court documents, 37-year-old Ryan Brungardt of Salina is charged with two counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography.

Brungardt is a former employee at Lakewood Middle School and former wrestling coach for Salina Central High School.

Brungardt is accused of using a cellphone to record three minors while they showered in a locker room during the Tournament of Champions, a wrestling tournament was held at Newton High in January 2024.

Brungardt made his initial court appearance for the criminal complaint on Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brooks G. Severson.

A detention hearing is scheduled for Monday

Investigators are in the process of reviewing additional seized cellphone videos in this case that are suspected to have been recorded at wrestling meets in Newton, Hays, Garden City and Salina during the 2023-2024 wrestling season.

Anyone who believes they witnessed crimes or any suspicious activity at these events is asked to contact the Kansas Bureau of Investigation at (785) 600-8790 or report at www.kbi.ks.gov/sar.

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