Royals stumble to fourth loss in a row, drop 2-0 decision to Twins

The Royals escaped the recycled air and kitschy décor of Minute Maid Park late Wednesday evening. After 10 days on the road, the last three all marked by losses to the Astros, the team repaired to Kauffman Stadium in hopes of surging into the All-Star break in two weeks.

A crowd of 37,196 greeted them for Thursday’s series opener against the Twins. Hundreds streamed toward the exits after the eighth inning, Kansas City’s last chance to plate a run, in a 2-0 defeat to the Twins.

It was the fourth loss in a row for the Royals (44-32). They failed to touch Minnesota right-hander Kyle Gibson, who struck out seven in eight innings. Twins manager Paul Molitor stuck with Gibson through a rocky eighth, and Gibson rewarded his manager for his faith.

“He was locked in tonight,” outfielder Lorenzo Cain said. “Threw the ball very, very well. We just couldn’t figure him out. So the result was no runs on the board.”

Manager Ned Yost called upon his bench to revive his offense. After a leadoff single by Omar Infante, Jarrod Dyson replaced him at first base. Dyson swiped second, but Alcides Escobar failed to advance him to third. Mike Moustakas walked. The Royals could not drum up any more offense.

Lorenzo Cain struck out, waving at a 2-2 fastball for the second out. Eric Hosmer grounded out to quiet the fans inside the park. Gibson bowled over the Royals with the heaviness and sink of his two-seam fastball.

“He’s really got a lot of movement off it,” Hosmer said. “And he’s really learned how to pitch off of it.”

There was little to cheer, little to celebrate. In the ninth, closer Greg Holland gave up a run on an RBI triple by infielder Eduardo Escobar.

The dearth of offense turned Chris Young (7-4, 2.64 ERA) into a hard-luck loser. He yielded just one run across 5 1/3 innings.

“You try to judge how you throw the ball, not results,” Young said. “Obviously I wish I could have kept that game at 0-0. And just given up a chance, maybe put a little pressure on them. But over the course of the season, you run into hot pitchers, and I think we’ve had some this week. Gibson was certainly great tonight.”

Monday marked the return of Hosmer. He sat out all three losses in Houston with a sprained left ring finger. He still felt some pain when he swung before the game, but he pronounced the discomfort was manageable. He also showed some willingness to sacrifice power. After a single by Lorenzo Cain in the fourth, Hosmer popped a bunt down the third-base line for a hit.

Up to this point, the Royals had accomplished little against Gibson. Gibson often overpowers Kansas City hitters with his sinker, and this year has been his best in the big leagues. He had kept the Royals off the board through the first three innings, and would continue that streak in the fourth.

But first, he needed to defuse this threat. Kendrys Morales hit into a fielder’s choice. With runners at the corners, Alex Gordon loaded the bases with a walk. Then it was up to Perez.

Gibson braced Perez with four fastballs in a row. With the count at 2-2, Gibson slipped a slider that nipped the inner half. Perez opted not to swing. The threat vanished.

“There just weren’t many mistakes made,” Yost said. He added, “When he pitches as good as he did tonight, you just battle.”

The Twins grabbed the lead in the top of the next frame. Catcher Kurt Suzuki dug out a fastball at the knees and shot it into the left-field corner for a double. A sacrifice bunt sent him to third. The Royals pulled their infield in and reeled their outfielders in, likewise. The positioning would not matter.

Young fell behind outfielder Danny Santana with two straight balls. Santana skied an RBI triple in between Gordon and Cain. Young recovered to strand Santana at third, but the Royals still trailed.

Young would only collected one more out after the fifth. He gave up a single to Joe Mauer, then unleashed his third wild pitch of the game. All were sliders in the dirt that Salvador Perez did not block. After a sacrifice bunt, Yost removed Young from the game. His pitch count was at 90. Franklin Morales stranded Mauer, but the central problem of the day remained: Kansas City could not score.

“You tip your cap,” Young said. “Gibson was great. He was on his game, locating all his pitches. It was a pretty impressive performance.”

To reach Andy McCullough, call 816-234-4730 or send email to rmccullough@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @McCulloughStar. Download True Blue, The Star’s free Royals app, here.

This story was originally published July 2, 2015 at 10:05 PM with the headline "Royals stumble to fourth loss in a row, drop 2-0 decision to Twins."