Royals strand runners all day, drop series finale to Pirates 4-3

Brady Singer hits a wall in the fifth.

Kansas City hitters went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position and Brady Singer struggled in the fifth as the Royals dropped the series finale in Pittsburgh 4-3.

The Pirates got to Singer in the opening frame when Isiah Kiner-Falefa led off with a single, followed by an RBI double by Bryan Reynolds. The Royals were able to tie that in the second when they loaded the bases with no outs, scoring a run on a Yuli Gurriel sacrifice fly. But they failed to make it a big inning when Maikel Garcia and Garrett Hampson each struck out against Pirates starter Jared Jones.

The Royals had another great opportunity in the third inning when Tommy Pham led off with a triple. But when Bobby Witt Jr. flied out to right, Pham was out at home trying to score on a sacrifice fly. The Royals collected two subsequent hits but failed to score in the inning.

The Royals took the lead in the fourth on back-to-back doubles by Gurriel and Garcia.

Singer ran into some trouble in the fourth, loading the bases, but escaping with just a single run scoring on a ground out by Nick Gonzales to make it 2-2. But the fifth would be his undoing. Billy Cook led off with a single and scored from first on a single from Kiner-Falefa, part of a three-hit day for him. Singer walked two more hitters to load the bases, then walked Rowdy Tellez to force in another run. He would exit the game after five innings and 89 pitches, allowing six hits and four runs with six strikeouts and four walks.

The Royals had another golden opportunity in the sixth off reliever Colin Holderman. With one out, they loaded the bases with a Gurriel walk, Garcia single, and Isbel getting hit in the leg. Tommy Pham fouled out, and while Holderman walked Witt to force in a run, Salvador Perez flied out to end the threat with the Royals still down 4-3.

Carlos Hernandez looked solid with a scoreless inning of relief, while Daniel Lynch IV tossed two shutout innings with two walks and three strikeouts. Former Royals reliever Aroldis Chapman tossed a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close the door.

The Royals finish the road trip 3-3 and fall to 82-67, losing a game on the Guardians to trail first place by four games. They’ll head to Kansas City for the final homestand of the year, beginning with a three-game set against the Tigers on Monday evening.