The return Tuesday by the Royals to ground zero was generally uneventful — except for the rain.
They were trailing the the Detroit Tigers 5-1 at Kauffman Stadium in the seventh inning when the skies opened, a deficit that scarcely resembled Monday’s 19-4 annihilation.
Start with two problems: Kyle Davies continued the rotation’s recent implosion by lasting just four innings. And José Guillen remains mired in an April-like slump.
There was lots more — Joel Peralta allowed three runs in a 37-pitch fifth inning — but start with Davies and Guillen because the rotation and Guillen are typically viewed as two of the club’s chief strengths.
Davies allowed only two runs but required 96 pitches to get 12 outs. His early exit left the rotation with just four “quality starts” over the last 20 games.
Guillen was hitless in his first three at-bats Tuesday and stranded three runners, including two in scoring position with fewer than two outs, on a night when manager Trey Hillman benched slumping Alex Gordon and Mark Teahen against Tigers lefty Kenny Rogers.
The grim math: Guillen had just 11 hits in his last 73 at-bats, with no homers and only five RBIs in that span.
To be fair, only Mark Grudzielanek seemed able to solve Rogers. That’s no surprise. Grudzielanek had a two singles and a double in his first three at-bats and was 15 for 23 in his career against Rogers.
Guillen entered the game at six for 17 with two homers against Rogers but failed to get the ball out of the infield. It continues Guillen’s roller-coaster year. He batted .165 in his first 30 games, then .380 in his next 44 games before his current slide.
Throw in an extended rain delay in the Royals’ half of the seventh, and it made for a miserable night.
Rogers limited the Royals to one run and four hits in the first six innings. He struck out four and walked one.
Five different players had RBIs in a balanced Detroit attack through the first seven innings. Placido Polanco gave Detroit a 2-1 lead with a two-out homer in the third inning and contributed a double to the three-run fifth.
Davies, 3-2, retired the game’s first two hitters before running into trouble. Carlos Guillen pulled a double into the right-field corner and scored when Magglio Ordoñez punched an RBI single through the right side.
The Royals pulled even in similar fashion in their half of the first.
Mike Aviles extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a one-out double and scored on Grudzielanek’s RBI single. Grudzielanek went to second when left fielder Matt Joyce made a wild throw to the plate, but Rogers retired Guillen and Billy Butler.
Davies ran into more two-out trouble in the third. Polanco’s homer made it 2-1 before a walk and a single put runners on first and third. Davies avoided further damage by striking out Miguel Cabrera.
But Davies’ pitch count kept climbing. He worked around a one-out double in the fourth by Gary Sheffield but had thrown 96 pitches when Edgar Renteria ended the inning with a fly left.
And that was it.
Peralta rejoined the club earlier in the day as the replacement for Jimmy Gobble, who was placed on the disabled list because of a strained lower back. Peralta ran into immediate trouble.
Curtis Granderson led off with an infield single and went to third when Polanco doubled to center. A walk to Carlos Guillen loaded the bases. Ordoñez popped to second, but Cabrera punched an RBI single into right for a 3-1 lead.
A bases-loaded walk to Matt Joyce made it 4-1. Sheffield followed with a sacrifice fly.
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