Royals drop fifth straight, 4-0, to Athletics

This was one of the duller games the boys in blue have played this season.

In a season that has been defined by the Royals' stranding a dozen runners seemingly every night, this afternoon’s game didn’t feature that particular problem. That’s because the Royals only had six baserunners all day. Four singles, a hit by pitch, and a walk. The Royals also struck out a dozen times.

There’s just nothing good to report about this one. Maikel Garcia was 2-for-4 but couldn’t do everything himself. Michael Lorenzen did have the team’s first quality start since his start on Sunday, but it only met the bare minimum requirement of six innings and three runs. He struck out only four and walked three. None of the Royals’ three relievers managed a single strikeout.

Jacob Lopez pitched a gem for the Athletics. He came into the day with a 6.00 ERA but lowered it to 4.80 by shutting the Royals out for six innings and tying his career high in strikeouts at nine. A pair of middling Athletics relievers shut the Royals down for the final three innings.

Bobby Witt Jr. went 0-for-3 and is now hitless in his last 15 at-bats with only a single walk. His OPS has dropped below .800. Earlier in the season, Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino were black holes in the middle of the lineup, cratering the Royals’ options. Now it’s Bobby. You’d have to imagine he’ll start hitting again sooner or later, but with the Royals in free fall, it’s reasonable to wonder if it will happen soon enough to prevent the team from selling off some pitchers at the deadline in an attempt to re-tool for next season.

Anyway, the Royals will play again tomorrow afternoon at 1:10 CDT, hoping to prevent the A’s from becoming the second team to sweep them this season. Noah Cameron will go up against Jeffrey Springs. The game will be simulcast on KSMO and KCTV 5 for those of you without cable access who, for some reason, would like to watch this team play.