Royals' RISP woes rearing ugly head during tough spell

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals went on the road last week and won just one of six games, although the win on Sunday allowed for them to return home with some momentum, which they desperately needed after being swept out of Chicago and losing the series in St. Louis.

That momentum fell flat in Monday’s series-opening 3-1 loss to the Red Sox at Kauffman Stadium, with a season-long trend rearing its ugly head again.

Too quiet of an offense that failed to back up a good start from Seth Lugo, who allowed two runs -- on a home run from Willson Contreras -- in six strong innings.

Red Sox starter Sonny Gray, who entered Monday with a 1.76 ERA in 13 career starts against the Royals, was dominant again, allowing one run in six-plus innings with nine strikeouts. The Royals -- who left 49 men on base during the six-game road trip -- went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position Monday while leaving six on base.

“He’s really good at what he does,” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “He spins the crap out of the ball, and he had the breaking ball working all night, running underneath the zone, and we were biting on it. He was able to throw the cutter in to lefties. He was backing up the sinker with two strikes. He just did a nice job. We didn’t do enough.”

The Royals are 20-28 and tied for last place in the American League Central, 6 1/2 games behind the Guardians (27-22). There are still 114 games left this season, early enough that looking at the standings might be foolish. With the quarter-mark of the season behind them, the Royals know what type of team they’ve been; they can’t let that identity define them the rest of the way.

Kansas City’s offense is averaging 3.96 runs per game this season, and its production with runners in scoring position stand out the most. The team’s .652 OPS is second-worst behind Boston’s .650, while the .229 average is sixth-worst in MLB.

Most of the missed opportunities on Monday came from the bottom of the order. An out at home erased a run and a lead in the fifth inning, when Michael Massey was thrown out trying to score on Kyle Isbel’s single into shallow left field.

But the biggest talking point surrounding the Royals this season is the lack of production from the middle of the order. Vinnie Pasquantino has a .198/.279/.331 slash line this year, while Salvador Perez has a .201/.244/.346 line. No one in the American League has more plate appearances (54) with runners in scoring position than Pasquantino; his .434 OPS in those situations are fourth-worst in the AL among qualified players.

“Let’s face it: We’ve got our No. 3 and 4 hitters that are struggling right now,” general manager J.J. Picollo said pregame Monday. “They know how valuable they are to the team. What we have to keep reminding them is how important to the team [they are]. Just because you’ve had a tough start doesn’t mean that’s how you’re going to finish.

“... We have a lot of history to lean on with those two. We know that they’re run producers. And they will be run producers. It’s just a matter of when, and that’s why we need to keep running them out there, because they’ve done it before at this level.”

The Royals have discussed shaking up the batting order. There have been times when Pasquantino hits lower when the Royals face a tough lefty starter.

But a bigger change hasn’t yet been made, nor will the club rush to make one, with the Royals choosing to bank on Pasquantino and Perez producing like they have before.

“There’s got to be -- I believe -- a certain level of trust in your players,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “We don’t have 25 other Major League quality players just floating around that you pick and put in a lineup. You’re talking about guys who drove in 100 runs last year, that have a track record of being good hitters, and we believe in those guys. So I don’t have a strict, like, ‘After this many days we will do this,’ but we consider a lot of things all the time.”

That confidence matters in the clubhouse. So does consistency. But so do the results.

“I know I’m good at what I do, so I just got to go do it,” Pasquantino said. “I’m never going to lose confidence in myself, regardless of what the scoreboard says. I know I got to get back up there and provide for this team. That’s my job. And I haven’t been doing enough of that, but there’s always tomorrow.”