GIF of a bad Nori Aoki swing

The Royals’ hitters are having a really tough time these days.

Perhaps this GIF of Nori Aoki swinging and falling to the ground during the fifth inning of Wednesday’s 9-3 loss to the Astros is a perfect example of bad things have gone.

Aoki later walked in this plate appearance, but this was one ugly swing.

It prompted one of the Astros announcers to say: “Oh my goodness, what in the world? Is he OK? …

“What’s the thought when you’re belly down right there?”

To which the other Houston announcer said: “That’s a swing you don’t see everyday in the big leagues.”

To which Royals fans everywhere said: “Sigh.”

Here’s the GIF, which comes from video at MLB.com:

This story was originally published May 28, 2014 at 9:22 PM.