Yordano Ventura shelled, Royals lose 6-0

The Kansas City Royals capped off a terrible weekend with a poor performance Sunday, losing 6-0 to the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.

Boston jumped on Yordano Ventura early, scoring a run in the bottom of the first. Brock Holt led off the game with a single, then a single by Daniel Nava advanced Holt to third. Dustin Pedroia collected a RBI with a groundout to Alcides Escobar, which forced Nava out at second but plated Holt.

Ventura surrendered two more runs in the bottom of the third. David Ross led off the inning with a walk, then Jackie Bradley Jr cracked a single. Daniel Nava scored both runners with a ground-rule double, crushing a hanging curveball that caught far too much of the plate.

The Red Sox added to their advantage in the next inning. Shane Victorino hit a leadoff double, then Ross smashed a two-run bomb over the Green Monster. The homer didn't kill the rally; singles by Bradley Jr and Holt put two more runners on, while Nava drove in Holt with a sacrifice fly.

Ventura ended up working 4 1/3 innings, allowing six runs on nine hits. The right-hander walked four while striking out none. He had no command of his pitches, consistently missing his spots and leaving pitches over the plate.

The Royals offense looked completely overmatched against Jon Lester. Lester tossed eight shutout innings, only allowing four hits while striking out eight and walking two. Escobar had two hits, while Eric Hosmer extended his hitting streak to 16 games.

The loss pushed the Royals to 48-49 on the year. Kansas City will attempt to right the ship on Monday when they travel to Cellular Field to start a three-game series with the Chicago White Sox. Jeremy Guthrie will start the game for the Royals, facing Chris Sale. I wouldn't get your hopes up.