The Royals did not vault back into second place today. For the first time this season, the 2011 Royals were shutout. That 11 run outburst at Yankee Stadium seems very far away.
Saturday's game was eerily similar to Friday's defeat. The Royals feel behind early, struggled to generate any offense, yet found themselves surprisingly in the game late. Jeff Francis surrendered three runs in the first... and no more after that, turning in multiple easy innings. All told, Francis lasted eight innings, scattering seven hits and a walk against four strikeouts.
However, as had been the case the day before, that pitching was wasted, as the Royals could do nothing against a groundball-getting Brad Penny. Not that Penny was perfect. With two outs in the 4th and Butler on 2nd, Eric Hosmer hit a bullet to center, that was tracked down in spectacular fashion by Austin Jackson.
Although Francoeur did manage a surprising walk, the Royals were once again closed out in the 9th by the annoying Papa Grande.