Johnny Cueto has a rough outing in Royals’ 6-5 loss to the Tigers

Johnny Cueto exited the diamond on Tuesday night with a smile spread across his face. He had just finished the sixth inning, his second spotless frame in a row against the Detroit Tigers, and as a final act caught a pop-up near the mound. The relative rarity — fielders often save their pitchers the trouble of trying to secure infield flies — led Cueto to grin.

He ended his night on a bright note, but the outing continued a troubling pattern for Cueto, who absorbed his third consecutive loss as a Royal in the 6-5 defeat to the Tigers. Cueto gave up four runs on nine hits, all in the first four innings, as Detroit blistered him with their bats.

“Without a doubt, he’s not happy with his performance today,” said catching coach Pedro Grifol, who translated for Cueto. “But if he can take a positive out of today’s game, he’s happy with the way he finished. And he’s going to take that into his side work, and he knows it’s not going to last long.”

When Kansas City acquired Cueto from the Cincinnati Reds before the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline, the organization positioned him as the leader of their rotation. But through seven starts, his ERA as a Royal is 4.21 and his record is 2-4.

As the Royals ponder what ails Cueto, they hope they can trust the reputation he earned in Cincinnati and the reports from scouts who classified him as an ace. But Cueto has struggled to keep the baseball down in the strike zone with both his fastball and his off-speed pitches in recent outings.

“He just wasn’t sharp,” manager Ned Yost said afterward. “He finally got sharp in about the fourth inning. His stuff was good. But just missing.”

During his first four starts as a Royal, Cueto looked the part. He posted a 1.80 ERA, pitched a shutout in his first start at Kauffman Stadium and held opposing hitters to a .590 on-base plus slugging percentage.

The last three outings have given cause for concern. Cueto allowed a season-high 13 hits to the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 21 at Fenway Park. Boston dented him for seven runs.

Five days later, the Baltimore Orioles blasted Cueto with a different sort of barrage. Cueto struck out eight batters, but he surrendered three home runs. The power display charged six more runs to his ledger.

On Tuesday, Cueto kept the Tigers in the yard, but he struggled to direct the baseball toward the gloves of his defenders. Of course, it is impossible for a pitcher to perform such an act, but Detroit hitters found holes at an alarming hit.

A Tiger led off the first four innings with a hit. Outfielder Anthony Gose singled to start the game, advanced to third on a throwing error by Alcides Escobar and scored on another single down the third-base line by former MVP Miguel Cabrera.

In the second, third baseman Nick Castellanos led off with a single and outfielder Tyler Collins hit the first of two doubles. A groundout by catcher James McCann plated one run. A single by shortstop Jose Iglesias accounted for another.

The fourth Detroit run occurred in the fourth. At first, it appeared the Royals defense would let Cueto escape a mess of his own making. After a leadoff double by Collins, Escobar threw him out at the plate trying to advance from third on a grounder. But Cueto promptly hit Gose and yielded an RBI single to second baseman Ian Kinsler.

“This is obviously part of the game,” Grifol said. “Every player has a streak like this. He’s not concerned, because he’s well aware that this is going to turn around, and he’s going to help his club do what they need to do.”

Tuesday’s box score

Tigers 6, Royals 5

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a-grounded out for Infante in the 8th.

1-ran for A.Gordon in the 8th. 2-ran for S.Perez in the 8th.

E: Kinsler (10), Ty.Collins (4), A.Escobar (10). LOB: Detroit 6, Kansas City 7. 2B: Ty.Collins 2 (7), A.Gordon (14). HR: Kinsler (10), off M.Almonte; K.Morales (16), off Verlander. RBIs: Kinsler 3 (64), Mi.Cabrera (67), J.McCann (30), J.Iglesias (23), A.Escobar (40), K.Morales (91), A.Gordon (40), S.Perez (56), Infante (37). SB: Zobrist (2). SF: A.Gordon.

Runners left in scoring position: Detroit 2 (V.Martinez, Mi.Cabrera); Kansas City 3 (Zobrist, Moustakas, L.Cain). RISP: Detroit 3 for 9; Kansas City 3 for 10. Runners moved up: J.McCann 2, A.Escobar, Infante. GIDP: S.Perez. DP: Detroit 1 (J.Iglesias, Kinsler, Mi.Cabrera).

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A.Wilson pitched to 1 batter in the 8th.

Holds: A.Wilson (5), B.Hardy (11), N.Feliz (2). Inherited runners-scored: A.Wilson 1-0, B.Hardy 1-1, N.Feliz 2-0. HBP: by Cueto (Gose).

Umpires: Home, Gary Cederstrom; First, Quinn Wolcott; Second, Ryan Blakney; Third, Eric Cooper. Time: 3:12. Att: 30,665.

This story was originally published September 1, 2015 at 10:44 PM with the headline "Johnny Cueto has a rough outing in Royals’ 6-5 loss to the Tigers."