Royals' offense finds new gear despite loss

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals can only hope the late-inning offense they showcased on Thursday afternoon travels well.

In jeopardy of a fourth shutout loss through the first seven games of the season, Kansas City strung together five consecutive quality at-bats with four hits and a walk to open the eighth inning. Ultimately, it wasn’t enough to prevent a 6-3 loss to the Blue Jays, but the three-run rally provided an emphatic boost for a ballclub in need of an offensive renaissance as it heads to San Francisco for its first road trip of the season.

“It shows you what our team can do,” shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. said. “It can be that fast.”

With the Royals trailing 6-0 and stuck in neutral, Witt Jr. gave his team a jumpstart with a homer that cradled the left-field foul pole to open the eighth. That blast seemed to energize the lineup, and it kept moving.

MJ Melendez drew a walk against reliever Anthony Bass and Salvador Perez singled. In rapid-fire fashion, Vinnie Pasquantino drove in a run on a lefty-on-lefty single off Tim Mayza and Edward Olivares doubled home another. Just like that, the Royals had the tying run at the plate with nobody out. The surge fizzled at that point, but the club at least had something positive to contemplate as players packed their bags.

“Momentum is key, right?” interim manager Paul Hoover said. “Just continue to have good at-bats. Get the heartbeat up a little bit. We had a chance with the tying run at the plate in the eighth with nobody out.”

Still, the bottom line was a 1-6 homestand. The Royals will try to make amends on their initial road trip, which begins on Friday against the Giants.

For the most part, Kansas City had stable pitching performances during the homestand. In the first six games, Royals starters limited the opponent to two runs or fewer and the club entered Thursday’s game as one of only three Major League teams that hadn’t allowed a homer. That changed in the fourth inning, when Cavan Biggio cleared the right-field wall against starter Jordan Lyles, who allowed five earned runs over 5 2/3 innings.

For Lyles, who struck out nine and didn’t issue a walk, the outing was difficult to summarize.

“I thought MJ and I did a little better than that final line,” Lyles said.

The righty felt his club’s uprising in the eighth showed what the offense is capable of moving forward.

“We have a young team and a talented team,” Lyles said. “We’re going to be fine. I haven’t heard any words of discouragement.”

The Royals will try to make their first road trip a fruitful one, with manager Matt Quatraro looking on from afar. Hoover will guide the team in San Francisco as Quatraro remains in COVID-19 protocols.

Asked if some frustration had set in with the Royals as they were burdened by an unproductive first homestand, Witt Jr. expressed confidence his team will turn things around.

“We’re human, so whenever you lose, you are going to get frustrated,” Witt Jr. said. “That’s part of it. Now, it’s just how you bounce back. The frustration builds to good things. You learn from it. Keep moving forward and times will get better.”