KANSAS CITY – The Royals faced a three-run deficit four batters into Thursday’s game against the Guardians, and no matter what the offense did later in the game to try to close the gap, they never got close enough to overcome it.
The result was an 8-5 loss to the Guardians at Kauffman Stadium, the Royals’ second loss in a row on the heels of a five-game win streak.
A four-game split with a team like Cleveland is not the end of the world. But the Royals had an opportunity in front of them to win a series, keep playing good baseball and further close the small gap that separates them in fourth place with the Guardians in first place (2 1/2 games).
To not build on the momentum the first two games offered left the clubhouse disappointed.
“You feel like you can win a series, and we split the series,” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “... The way this one kind of went down leaves a sour taste in your mouth. Kind of the way the game ended, too. We just kept fighting, and it wasn’t enough.”
The good news? The next opportunity is just as important with a three-game set against the Tigers – a team the Royals are also chasing in the standings – this weekend at The K.
Royals starter Seth Lugo wasn’t sharp from the beginning Thursday, needing 29 pitches to get out of a three-run first inning. The command didn’t get better from there. Lugo issued two two-out walks in the second inning, and a leadoff walk in the third came around to score.
His day ended at 102 pitches after four innings.
“Obviously want to pitch deeper, especially after yesterday’s game,” Lugo said, referencing the bullpen covering six innings Wednesday after Cole Ragans’ abbreviated start. “... I had to battle. First batter of the game, they were putting good swings on the ball. I feel like I didn’t have my best stuff, but tried to go as deep as I could today.”
The Royals had a chance to erase that long first inning for Lugo or at least scratch one run across when Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. both reached base at the top of the lineup. Flyouts from Pasquantino and Salvador Perez led to two outs, though, and even after Carter Jensen walked to load the bases, Jac Caglianone grounded out on the first pitch he saw.
“First inning is really a killer,” Pasquantino said. “You give up three, then you have an opportunity to at least scratch one, and didn’t do it. Just got to be better.”
The Royals left 10 on base and went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position, situations in which they’ve had a very hard time with this year but have been better with recently; entering Thursday, their .283 average with runners in scoring position over the last 13 games ranked seventh in MLB.
But those opportunities were magnified much more Thursday when the pitching staff couldn’t keep the Guardians from adding on. Lugo allowed another run in the third. A leadoff walk, stolen base and passed ball led to another run in the sixth off Alex Lange. Two walks (and three stolen bases) followed by Bo Naylor’s three-run homer off Eric Cerantola came in the seventh.
“We let a couple bad innings change the outcome of the game,” Lugo said. “Offense played a great game. Defense played well. Couple pitches here and there, it’s a different story.”
Despite scoring all five of their runs in the back-half of the game, the Royals never caught up.
“Which is why, you have those opportunities, you got to cash in,” said Pasquantino, who took accountability for his performance with runners in scoring position. He’s just 5-for-39 (.128) in scoring situations this year.
“You take pride in the good at-bats, and I felt like I had three good ones today and then two bad ones,” Pasquantino said. “On the whole, you have more good at-bats than bad, except the two bad ones came with runners on base in the biggest situations. You try not to focus too much on runners in scoring position, but it matters. It’s the difference between winning and losing, and lately, I’ve been hurting the team when it comes to those things. I just got to be better, and I will be.”