KANSAS CITY -- Chalk it up as simply an atypical night for Jake Arrieta.
The Phillies' power right-hander, who entered Friday night's Interleague series opener against the Royals having allowed only four homers all season, surrendered three loud ones in a 5-1 loss at Kauffman Stadium. Furthermore, the normally pitch-efficient Arrieta needed 99 pitches to record 15 outs before leaving with his club down three in the sixth inning.
Alex Gordon delivered two of the homers off Arrieta with his two hardest-hit blasts (110.6 and 109.5 mph) since Statcast began tracking those numbers. Jorge Soler's booming drive of 438 feet over the center-field wall in the sixth made it an overall night to forget for Arrieta.
“Three mistakes got hit over the fence,” Arrieta said. “I just need to be better.”
Arrieta said the common thread to his performance was an inability to consistently keep the ball down.
Although Kauffman Stadium is a spacious park, Arrieta noted that Major League hitters are going to do some damage with elevated pitches in a hitter’s count.
Gordon’s two-run homer in the first got the Royals off and running. On a 3-1 count, Gordon was ready to capitalize after Adalberto Mondesi had walked just ahead of him.
“Out of my hand, he sees it’s going to be over the plate and it just doesn’t quite have the finish that I was looking for,” Arrieta said. “Gordon is a pro. He made me pay for my mistakes, as well as Soler.”
The Phillies entered the series with the pitching staff on a roll. Over the previous 13 games, the rotation had combined for a 2.42 ERA in 78 innings. That mark was the second-lowest in the Majors, trailing only the Twins’ 2.25.
Meanwhile, the usually potent Philadelphia offense settled for just one run off starter Homer Bailey and the Royals' bullpen after several hard-hit balls in the early going went right at Kansas City defenders.
Phillies manager Gabe Kapler pointed out a crucial sequence in the sixth when Philadelphia trailed, 3-1, and had the bases loaded with one out. Royals reliever Scott Barlow escaped the jam by striking out Odubel Herrera and Cesar Hernandez.
“Baseball is round ball, round bat,” Kapler said. “Sometimes you do everything in your power and the other guy just beats you.”