Royals shut out by Jose Fernandez in 3-0 loss

Quick hits

• It was kind of a pitching duel for awhile
• Dillon Gee got singled right out of the game in the sixth
• The Royals couldn’t capitalize on opportunities against Jose Fernandez

That was relatively unexpected. Dillon Gee and Jose Fernandez matched zeroes across the first five innings of the game. In fact, Fernandez was really the only hitter to get to Gee, tallying two hits in his two plate appearances. He led the Marlins in hits and was involved on offense in the only scoring inning of the game.

The Royals loaded the bases against Fernandez in the second inning on two singles and an error, but they failed to score.

In the bottom of the sixth, Fernandez, Dee Gordon, and Martin Prado loaded the bases on three straight singles with one out. Christian Yelich landed the fourth single in a row to score two runs and knock Gee out of the game. Peter Moylan replaced Gee and got a fly ball to Alex Gordon off the bat of Marcell Ozuna. Prado took off from third and made it just in time to score the third run of the inning.

The run was charged to Gee, so the scoreless streak of the Royals bullpen remained intact. Chien-Ming Wang ran into some trouble in the seventh, allowing two baserunners, but he did not let them score.

The Marlins brought in Fernando Rodney to finish off the Royals in the ninth. Alex Gordon led off with a single, and Alcides Escobar hit a rocket to the Marlins shortstop. He caught it...sad. Cheslor Cuthbert pinch-hit for Raul Mondesi and drew a walk, which brought up the pitcher’s spot. Pinch-hitter Kendrys Morales worked a full count before popping out. Paulo Orlando dribbled a grounder toward third base and managed an infield hit to load the bases. That brought up Christian Colon, who fouled off four pitches in his eight-pitch plate appearance before lining out to Adeiny Hechavarria to end the game.

The Royals couldn't get to 10 wins in a row, but it was a heck of a ride. They are still kind of on the periphery of the playoff race, needing to leapfrog several teams to get to the Wild Card, but it is more realistic now than it was 10 or 20 games ago. Every game is of the utmost importance, so they have to move on immediately to face the Marlins in the series finale tomorrow.