OAKLAND -- The nerves were less apparent for Jackson Kowar as he took the mound for his second career start on Saturday afternoon against the A’s.

But while the Royals rookie gutted through the first inning and earned his first career Major League strikeout, he struggled with command and turned in another short start in Kansas City’s 11-2 loss at the Coliseum.

Kowar allowed four runs in 1 1/3 innings against the A’s, lasting two outs longer than the two-thirds of an inning he threw against the Angels in his debut on Monday. During a long first inning, Kowar allowed one run on a sacrifice fly, and after Sean Murphy walked on four pitches, manager Mike Matheny used a mound visit to talk with Kowar while Ronald Bolaños warmed up quickly in the Royals ‘pen. After Kowar walked Seth Brown to load the bases, he got a ground ball from Chad Pinder to end the inning.

“We talk a lot about trusting your stuff,” Matheny said. “It’s just a conversation about taking a breath here, slow things down. To encourage him -- from the side, stuff looks good. We just want him to get comfortable and trust his stuff. Which right now, is easier said than done.”

While Bolaños mostly held the A's in check with just one run in 3 1/3 innings of relief, the Royals' offense stalled. Twice they loaded the bases, and twice they couldn’t get a run across, bringing their average to .184 (9-for-49) with runners in scoring position over their past eight games, a stretch in which the Royals have lost seven.

Kelvin Gutierrez’s two-run homer in the top of the eighth prevented the shutout, but the A’s squelched any comeback with five runs in the bottom of the inning against reliever Wade Davis.

The Royals have now transitioned two of their top pitching prospects to the big leagues this season, and each has seen rough results. Daniel Lynch (No. 2 per MLB Pipeline) allowed 14 runs in eight innings across three starts, with some of the issues stemming from a problem with his delivery.

Kowar (No. 4) has allowed eight runs in two innings across two starts. Nerves were apparent in his debut on Monday against the Angels. On Saturday against the A’s, he couldn’t find the strike zone with his fastball, and that significantly impacted his changeup. Two in the middle of the plate produced back-to-back doubles in the second inning and kicked him from the game.

“If I’m not commanding the bottom of the zone, you’re not going to chase any changeups below the bottom of the zone,” Kowar said. “So I had to bring my changeup more up into the zone, and that’s when you can get hurt, and that’s exactly what happened.”

Kowar did get his first Major League strikeout, when Skye Bolt swung and missed on a 96 mph changeup in the second inning. It was Kowar’s only whiff on the 57 pitches he threw on the day. Kowar threw 29 total strikes Saturday and threw a first-pitch strike to just three of the 12 batters he faced (not including a two-run double surrendered to Matt Chapman on a first-pitch changeup in the second).

“Give it some time. Looking back, [the strikeout] will be one we look at with a smile,” Kowar said. “But obviously right now, it was a frustrating outing.”

The struggles of Kowar and Lynch don't change the Royals’ hopes and views of the pair's promise. Both pitchers have the stuff to be successful. Even the best of the best had bad debuts and tough rookie seasons.

Still, both situations raise questions about readiness -- and highlight the delicate balance the Royals are maneuvering this year. They want to contend in 2021, and they know they will have to rely on their young talent to do so, while also knowing that it sometimes takes time for prospects to transition to the big leagues.

Add the complication of prospects missing a full season and month of Minor League games from the past year to the fact that facing Major League hitters is completely different than facing Triple-A hitters, and there may be a bit of cause for concern.

“The skill level takes a bump, without a doubt,” Matheny said. “And then the natural human aspect of putting a lot on it. There’s a lot going on as far as all the distractions. It’s part of what we do, but there’s a lot going into getting yourself to the place where you feel like you belong.”

In Triple-A Omaha, Kowar was 5-0 with a 0.85 ERA -- numbers that suggested there was little reason to restrain him further. The Royals knew they’d need a fifth starter this week, and every time Kowar took the mound with the Storm Chasers, he gave the club another reason why he should be promoted.

“He just has to stay the course, because the stuff that we watched him use in Omaha, it plays here,” Matheny said. “It plays really well. [There are] just going to be some stepping stones to help him get there.”