Royals fall to Oakland 5-4

After dropping the first of three in Oakland on Monday night, the Royals failed to bounce back in a 5-4 loss on Tuesday. The loss secures a losing season against the Athletics.

Despite activating Zack Greinke off the IL earlier in the day, Kansas City elected to use Angel Zerpa as the opener. That decision, as it came to be, turned out to be a poor one. Zerpa was knocked for five runs over three innings. Four of them were earned.

The Royals fell behind in the first inning after a pair of runs, but Kyle Isbel managed to knot things up in a hurry in the top of the second. With two outs and the bases full, Isbel ripped a two-run single to center.

However, it didn’t take long for the tie to be broken. In fact, it took two pitches. Shea Langeliers homered for the second straight night to give Oakland a 3-2 lead in the second. In the ensuing inning, the A’s tacked on two more thanks to a two-run double from Aledmys Diaz.

In the top of the fifth, Kansas City slowly pieced together a rally. With runners at second and third, Salvador Perez scorched another two-run single up the middle.

Zack Greinke appeared as the bulk pitcher in the home half of the fifth and was flawless for the entirety of his night. He tossed four scoreless innings with five strikeouts. John McMillon relieved him in the eighth and was downright filthy.

Kansas City, though, was quiet against a putrid Oakland bullpen. They were held in check in the sixth, seventh and eighth without much of a fight.

In the top of the ninth, the Royals went down 1-2-3.

The Royals, 40-88, will try and avoid a sweep (sigh) against the Athletics tomorrow afternoon. Cole Ragans will be the man in charge of preventing that. First pitch is set for 2:37 p.m. CT.