Three winners and three losers from Royals 7-3 loss in series finale to Astros

A 5-1 home stand is still awesome, but work to be done on the upcoming road trip

The Royals six game win streak came to an end on Sunday afternoon. Yordan Alvarez powered Houston to a 7-3 win, to avoid getting swept in Kansas City for the second consecutive season. The Royals also fall back under .500, now sitting at 14-15 heading into an off day tomorrow before playing the Rays Tuesday-Thursday. Despite a tough game on Sunday, some players still had a great day.

Winners

Jonathan India struggled a little bit in left field, but he had a fantastic day at the plate, something that was much needed from the Royals leadoff hitter. He was 2-3 with a walk and an RBI sacrifice fly, which could’ve been another hit without a diving catch. He also scored the Royals first run of the day. If India can get hot, the Royals can reach another gear that they’ve been looking for all season.

Jonathan Bowlan made his MLB season debut and went six up, six down. It was a great showing for the big right hander. The 6’6 240 pounder was efficient as well, throwing just 20 pitches, striking out one and inducing weak contact. With limited time to make an impression, Bowlan needs to have outings like this to try and stick around.

Bobby Witt Jr. extended his hit streak to 19 games with an RBI double which plated the Royals first run on the afternoon. He struck out in his other three at bats, including looking twice. Albeit the last one was a foot outside. But the career best hitting streak continues, so I’ll give Bobby the nod for being in the winner category.

Losers

Chris Stratton did what he does best, give up runs when he is put on the bump. It’s been another rough season for Stratton; he had a 5.55 ERA last year in his first season with the club. Now he has surrendered 11 earned runs in 11 innings pitched so far this season, all of that in mop up duty. He has given up a run in 7 of his 9 outings this season and multiple runs in 6 of his 9 outings. When some guys get off the injured list, designating Stratton for assignment should be the easiest decision the Royals make all year.

Kris Bubic had his first rough start of the season. From the onset, it looked like Bubic was going to battle his command all day. The Astros had a good gameplan and Bubic left the game deciding mistake over the middle for a long 3 run homer from Yordan Alvarez. Bubic will bounce back, but 5 innings, 5 hits, 4 runs, 3 walks put him in the loser category for today.

Vinnie Pasquantino had another rough day at the plate hitting in the third spot in the batting order. He was 0-4 with a pair of strikeouts, both looking. On the season, Vinnie is just hitting .181. The Royals need him to produce in order for another playoff run, but maybe they should move him down in the order for the time being to allow his confidence to return.

An off day awaits the Royals tomorrow before 3 games in Tampa Bay. At 14-15 on the season after a 6-game win streak, the Royals need to start winning on the road. They are 3-10 on the road this season.