Royals swept by Red Sox

(If something dramatic happens and the Royals come back and win, blame my fiancé. She is making me do errands so I’m writing this in the 7th inning from our seats at Kauffman Stadium)

Three years ago, the Royals won the World Series. They lost 67 games in the entire six-month regular season.

Three years later, it is July 8th and they have already lost 64 games.

That fact seems pretty straightforward, but it absolutely blows my mind that it’s true.

On Sunday, the Royals lost again, their ninth in a row overall. They were swept by the Boston Red Sox. It is three straight sweeps, wrapping up an 0-6 homestand. They are 1-15 at home since June 2.

Things started off optimistic, though. The Royals actually led this game for awhile. Jake Junis was scratched with an elbow injury before the game, opening the door for spot starter Heath Fillmyer. All things considered, Fillmyer didn’t do too poorly in his first MLB start. He held baseball’s best offense to four runs in 4.1 innings, and his offense hung in there for awhile.

After Boston took a 1-0 lead, Jorge Bonifacio came through with a two-run double in the third inning. The Red Sox tied things up next inning, but the Royals again answered, this time with Adalberto Mondesi delivering a two-out RBI single. They were leading 3-2 into the fifth, but that’s when the wheels came off.

Fillmyer loaded the bases and was removed for another guy I’ve never heard of. Glenn Sparkman couldn’t limit the damage, as he walked in the tying run and then let the go-ahead run score on a sac fly. Two innings later, the Red Sox delivered the knockout punches, plating three more runs in the seventh to take a decisive 7-3 lead.

The Royals had another chance, putting men on second and third with nobody out in the seventh against a laboring Rick Porcello, but Jorge Bonifacio and Mike Moustakas put together pathetic at-bats to strike out on not-even-close pitches. The Royals started a mini-fire and then the heart of the order promptly peed on it to put it out. And that was that.

It was seriously like watching a high school team take on an MLB team. The Red Sox are so crisp and polished. They hit into four double plays in the first seven innings, so it could have been even worse. Their offense is a well-oiled machine, constantly plating runs and overcoming deficits.

As for the Royals, well, Whit Merrifield played well and had four hits. Mike Moustakas played first base with scouts from plenty of teams on hand. Drew Butera had two hits. Alcides Escobar’s consecutive games streak ended at 421 games in a row, so I feel like I walk away from the stadium having witnessed a victory today.

The Royals are 25-64. They have lost 27 of their last 31, something no Royals team in history has done. Heckuva way to celebrate that 50th anniversary.

Up next: it’s six road games heading into the All Star Break, with a visit to Target Field coming up first. Danny Duffy and Jose Berrios will square off at 7:15 on Monday night.