No relief in sight for Royals in 13-0 loss to Angels

The transaction was publicized at 1:18 p.m. Tuesday, introducing the top prospect in the Royals’ organization as the newest member of the big-league roster. The subsequent attention that 20-year-old Raul Mondesi garnered warranted a news conference before he ever took an at-bat in Major League Baseball’s regular season.

Hours later, after a glimpse of their long-term future, the Royals’ short-term outlook absorbed another significant hit.

The Royals continued their July swoon Tuesday, falling 13-0 to the visiting Los Angeles Angels in front of 28,026 fans at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals dropped to 6-13 this month, teetering on the wrong side of the line of contention. Major League Baseball’s trade deadline looms in five days.

“We try to control whatever we can control, and that’s going out and playing baseball. We’re not doing a very good job of that right now,” Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer said.

At 48-51, the Royals trail first-place Cleveland by nine games in the AL Central. They are looking up at seven teams in the race for two AL Wild Card spots.

On Tuesday, the final sequence looked like this: Royals catcher Drew Butera on the mound, recording the final out after the Angels’ 22-hit onslaught.

“Any time I have to come in and pitch, it’s never a fun time,” Butera said. “It’s an unfortunate situation, and (hopefully) it is the last time.”

In the Royals clubhouse, the pregame chatter Tuesday centered around a career regular-season debut for their second baseman. Mondesi finished 0 for 3.

Across the hall, the Angels’ clubhouse keyed on a 2016 season debut for their starting pitcher. Coming off Tommy John surgery, Tyler Skaggs made his first major-league appearance since July 31, 2014. He stepped into a growing line of starters to recently silence the Kansas City lineup, tossing seven scoreless innings. He allowed only three hits and one walk while striking out five.

“The issue was Skaggs. He was really good,” Royals manager Ned Yost said, later adding. “That’s pretty good stuff he’s featuring out there tonight.”

The Angels, 45-55, recorded 22 hits in support, with third baseman Yunel Escobar providing five of them.

It both overshadowed and soured the debut for Mondesi, who slotted into the No. 9 spot in the Royals lineup. His first mark in the box score: E4. Mondesi, highly regarded for his defense, couldn’t corral a hard hit one-hopper in the first inning.

The initial damage was done beforehand, anyway. The Angels needed only three pitches to grab a lead. Escobar roped Royals starter Dillon Gee’s first pitch of the game into left field, and right fielder Kole Calhoun drove him home with a double into the corner two pitches later.

All the Angels needed.

“It’s extremely frustrating,” Hosmer said. “We just can’t really get anything going. Offensively, we can’t get off to a good start. Defensively, teams are doing a good job of coming out and putting up runs early on us.”

The ominous start provided the omen for a dissatisfying conclusion.

And that’s been a theme with the No. 5 spot in the Royals’ rotation, which has developed in a turnstile of options — or lack thereof — this month. Chris Young. Dillon Gee. Brian Flynn. The spot was even skipped once last week.

On Tuesday it returned to Gee. But he failed to offer stability, allowing five runs and 10 hits before giving way to Young three batters into the sixth. Collectively, the club’s No. 5 starters have posted a 7.19 earned run average across 86  1/3 innings this season.

Escobar matched his career high with his five hits. Catcher Carlos Perez, who entered the night with a .206 average, added four more, including a home run and a double.

On the other hand, the Royals only true threat against Skaggs came in the third inning, with the teams still separated by only one run. Alcides Escobar and Cheslor Cuthbert strung together two-out singles before Hosmer flew out to left to end the frame.

That was it.

Six innings later, the Royals ensured themselves another series defeat. They have not won a series this month, and after Wednesday’s finale against the Angels, only a trip to Texas remains before the calendar flips its page to August.

This story was originally published July 26, 2016 at 10:39 PM with the headline "No relief in sight for Royals in 13-0 loss to Angels."