PHOENIX -- Less than 24 hours had passed since the Royals put nine runs on the scoreboard in Friday night’s rout over the D-backs, and despite the quick turnaround, they were hoping to keep that momentum going on Saturday.
D-backs starter Ryne Nelson had other ideas.
The Royals managed one run on five hits in their 7-1 loss to the D-backs on Saturday afternoon at Chase Field. The Royals didn’t have a baserunner until Freddy Fermin’s single into center field with one out in the top of the sixth inning, and they managed just two hits outside of the sixth.
Nelson only needed 86 pitches across his seven innings. By the time the Royals got him out of the game, the D-backs had built a sizable gap just by taking advantage of several free passes issued by the Royals' pitching staff, including four walks and a hit batter from starter Michael Wacha.
The Royals had a chance to clinch a series win and a winning road trip Saturday, but the forgettable loss sets up an important series finale. After a four-game series split in Seattle earlier this week, Sunday will determine whether the Royals head back home with a winning road trip or a losing one.
“It starts with myself today,” Wacha, who was tagged with four runs, said. “Nelson’s going out, he had his stuff going, and I’ve got to be able to match everything he’s got going on out there. We’ve played a couple of good games in a row, and it starts with me today. I didn’t get the job done.”
The Royals’ offensive questions have lingered and have become glaring. They knew that one good showing Friday night wasn’t going to be the fix. Even after Friday’s game, first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino was quick to emphasize postgame that it was only one game; if the Royals feel like they are taking better at-bats lately, then the key is now to find consistency in doing that.
Saturday showed why. The Royals jumped all over lefty Eduardo Rodriguez on Friday, but the right-handed Nelson offered a different look and really different stuff, including an elite fastball that paired 20 inches of vertical break with upper-90s velocity, maxing out at 98.9 mph and averaging 96.5 mph.
The Royals whiffed just three times on the pitch but saw 17 called strikes on Nelson’s four-seamer.
“Feel like the guys were, early in the game, we were letting him pitch and seeing pitches,” second baseman Jonathan India said. “Later on, we were like, ‘I’m not missing the fastball,’ trying to get on the fastball. But that’s hitting. It’s a mind game. And we just didn’t have it today.”
Fermin’s single put a hit on the board, and he came around to score with back-to-back singles from India and Bobby Witt Jr. But D-backs center fielder Alek Thomas’ diving catch on Pasquantino’s liner ended the threat.
“We were another hit away from a couple more runs,” India said. “The center fielder made a really good play on Vinnie’s ball. So it just didn’t go our way.”
The Royals’ deficit kept growing to where they could hardly get back in the game, and the mistakes Royals pitchers were making were nearly all self-inflicted. Arizona knocked eight hits Saturday, but five of their seven runs were scored by batters who had walked or gotten hit by a pitch.
Wacha struggled with his command and needed 98 pitches to get through four-plus innings, pulled in the fifth after issuing back-to-back walks to begin the frame.
Both of those runners came around to score.
“It certainly doesn’t help against a team like that, that can already hit,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “You don’t want to issue anything free to them.”
Arizona tacked on two runs in the eighth when Royals reliever Sam Long hit Blaze Alexander, made a throwing error that put Alexander on third, and then allowed a two-run home run to Randall Grichuk -- one that looked like an inside-the-park homer because of the bounce it took back on the field.
Upon further review, it hit a stool just beyond the fence in right-center field as right fielder Jac Caglianone hit the wall and Kyle Isbel took a spill on the warning track.
“Tough one to swallow,” Wacha said. “Too many free baserunners that end up, most of the time, coming around to score. You've got to be able to limit those and make them earn their way over there.”