Royals’ woes continue, drop seventh straight game

Darkness. My old friend.

Jose Quintana shoved and the Royals offense struggled once again as the White Sox completed the sweep with a 5-2 win this afternoon.

The loss was the Royals 7th straight defeat and dropped them to 7-14 overall.

As has been the case for much of the year, the Royals offense played slump buster to a struggling pitcher, as Quintana had entered the contest having dropped all four of his 2017 decisions.

The south-siders jumped on Royals starter Nate Karns in the first inning, tagging him for two runs on back-to-back doubles from Jose Abreu and Todd Frazier.

Fortunately for the Royals, Karns settled in nicely after a rocky first, retiring 13 of his next 15 batters after the Frazier’s RBI double.

The Royals, meanwhile, struggled to get anything started on offense, managing just two hits trough four innings and being struck out a whopping eight times.

They finally got a spark in the 5th as Alcides Escobar and Cheslor Cuthbert opened the frame with singles. Jorge Bonifacio smacked a single into center to drive in Escobar and make it a 2-1 game.

Bonifacio’s single out runners on first and second with nobody out, but the Royals failed to capitilize further as Mike Moustakas, Lorenzo Cain and Eric Hosmer all failed to advance the runners any further.

However, the Royals were right back at it in the 6th. Quintana got a little bit loose, issuing a single to Alex Gordon, who advanced to second on a wild pitch.

After a Whit Merrifield walk, they each moved up a bag when Quintana issued another wild pitch. Escobar grounded out to short to drive in Gordon and knot the game at 2-2.

The tie didn’t last long, unfortunately, as old friend Melody Cabrera led off the bottom half of the 6th with a single and was driven in on an Avisail Garcia moonshot home run.

It is worth noting that Garcia had a 1.008 OPS entering this afternoon’s contest, because baseball is weird.

The homer spoiled an otherwise productive start from Karns, who gave up just two hits from the 2nd inning through the 5th inning.

Those four innings were obviously bookended by four runs on five hits in the 1st and 6th inning.

The Royals put the tying run on base with two outs the next inning, but Salvador Perez struck out swinging to end the threat.

A Leury Garcia home run in the 7th all but put the Royals away as they went quietly in the 8th and 9th.

As the Royals rack up losses, the offense doesn’t seem to be progressing.

Perez’s hot start has basically been voided with just one hit in his last 20 chances, while Cain leaves Chicago looking to snap an 0-14 skid.

Up Next: Kansas City Royals v. Minnesota Twins, April 28, 2017, 7:15 PM CDT at Kauffman Stadium. RHP Ian Kennedy (0-2, 2.08 ERA) v. TBD.