Kris Medlen, Jeremy Guthrie implode as Royals fall to White Sox, 12-1

Kris Medlen bent at the waist and adjusted his right sock as the baseball cleared the left-field fence. There was little reason for Medlen to study the flight of the game’s defining moment, a three-run homer by White Sox catcher Tyler Flowers in a 12-1 Royals defeat.

In his third start with Kansas City, part of an audition for the team’s postseason rotation, Medlen stumbled into a pounding. The White Sox smacked 11 hits off him and scored seven runs. The most damaging hit occurred when Flowers extended his arms and powered a fourth-inning curveball out of the park.

“A frustrating day,” Medlen said. “Didn’t give us a chance to win from the first inning. So that’s always a pretty crappy feeling.”

Until his next outing, Medlen will now cart around a 6.88 ERA as a starter. As Medlen returned from his second Tommy John surgery this past winter, the Royals signed him to a two-year contract, in part because they viewed him as a potentially significant addition to 2016. For now, he remains wracked by inconsistency, a common complaint among pitchers after they undergo elbow reconstruction.

The stumbles are happening at an unfortunate time for Medlen. Before the game, manager Ned Yost admitted that the competition for the postseason rotation has been winnowed to a two-horse race, with Medlen vying against Danny Duffy for the final spot. Though Duffy himself is far from a modicum of efficiency or consistency, he may be more reliable than Medlen, who departed Friday’s game with two outs in the sixth.

Medlen did expand his pitch count to 98. Into the contest came Jeremy Guthrie. He combusted in the eighth, giving up five runs, including a three-run homer by Adam Eaton and a solo shot by Jose Abreu.

At the very least, the Royals, 82-52, can take solace in this: They will not face John Danks in the playoffs.

Danks, a White Sox southpaw and a regular thorn in Kansas City’s side, confounded his hosts again on Friday. Danks did not give up a run until the ninth. He threw the sixth complete game of his career, and Yost offered no explanation for Danks’ mastery of the Royals.

“If you figure it out, let me know,” Yost said. “Because I have not figured it out. I mean, seriously, I haven’t. Certain players have certain teams that they do really well against.”

Heading into September, the status of veterans Johnny Cueto and Edinson Volquez is secure. Even after a three-start tumble, Cueto owns the pedigree of an ace and should be expected to pitch the first game of any playoff series. Despite allowing six runs in three innings on Thursday, Volquez owns a 3.53 ERA, the best of any Royals starter from the Opening Day rotation.

The emergence of Yordano Ventura means a third slot has been claimed. Ventura overwhelmed the Tigers with 11 strikeouts earlier this week and completed a five-start stretch with a 1.13 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 32 innings. Yost indicated the Royals could write Ventura’s name into the playoff rotation in ink.

“There’s no debate,” Yost said. “Because he is going to be the guy that he’s been the last month. He’s back.”

That leaves Duffy and Medlen to joust for the last spot. Duffy can answer on Saturday against these same White Sox. He struggled to keep his pitch count down in six August starts. He finished the month with a 3.66 ERA across 32 innings, but only completed the sixth inning twice in half a dozen outings.

Medlen offers a stylistic contrast. He floods the zone with strikes. As times, this can backfire. Eaton singled on Friday’s first pitch. Abreu hit a single three pitches later. To keep Chicago off the board, Medlen made a splendid play in the field, leaping to snatch a grounder by former Royal Melky Cabrera and throw out Eaton at the plate.

But Medlen could not use his own fielding as momentum. He gave up an RBI single to the next batter, outfielder Avisail Garcia, and loaded the bases by walking first baseman Adam LaRoche.

A defensive miscue cost Medlen soon after. When shortstop Alexei Ramirez cracked a grounder up the middle, Ben Zobrist charged toward second base to field it. The ball bounced off his glove and into the outfield. Instead of collecting two outs, the Royals had given up two runs. Zobrist was not charged with an error.

“A pretty frustrating first inning,” Medlen said. “I felt like I did make some pitches. But they were just up enough for them to do something with.”

In the fourth, Flowers went deep after singles by Ramirez and second baseman Carlos Sanchez. Medlen gave up his seventh run on a two-out single by rookie infielder Tyler Saladino in the sixth. In came Guthrie, the man Medlen replaced in the rotation. The night would only get worse.

“Just chalk it up to a bad start,” Medlen said.

Friday’s box score

White Sox 12, Royals 1

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LOB: Chicago 5, Kansas City 5. 2B: Eaton (23), Me.Cabrera (31), Cuthbert (2). HR: Flowers (9), off Medlen; Eaton (11), off Guthrie; Abreu (25), off Guthrie. RBIs: Eaton 3 (41), Abreu (81), Av.Garcia (54), Al.Ramirez 2 (51), Flowers 3 (37), Saladino 2 (19), K.Morales (99). SB: Al.Ramirez (16). SF: K.Morales.

Runners left in scoring position: Chicago 4 (C.Sanchez, Abreu 2, LaRoche); Kansas City 2 (K.Morales, J.Gomes). RISP: Chicago 7 for 14; Kansas City 2 for 5.

Runners moved up: C.Sanchez. GIDP: C.Sanchez, Saladino, Zobrist. DP: Chicago 1 (Al.Ramirez, C.Sanchez, Abreu); Kansas City 2 (Zobrist, A.Escobar, Hosmer), (Cuthbert, Zobrist, Hosmer).

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Inherited runners-scored: Guthrie 1-0. HBP: by Guthrie (Flowers).

Umpires: Home, Brian Knight; First, Vic Carapazza; Second, Ron Kulpa; Third, Larry Vanover. Time: 2:40. Att: 36,953.

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 9:57 PM with the headline "Kris Medlen, Jeremy Guthrie implode as Royals fall to White Sox, 12-1."