Kansas City Royals shut out again by Toronto Blue Jays, this time by Alek Manoah
For the second consecutive night and the third time in their past six games, the Kansas City Royals were held without a run.
Two hits by outfielder Kyle Isbel constituted the bulk of the offense as the Royals fell 7-0 to the Toronto Blue Jays in front of an announced 15,103 in the second game of a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday night. They’ve now been shut out an MLB-worst eight times.
The Royals have lost 15 of 18 and will try to avoid being swept in the series finale Wednesday afternoon.
Blue Jays starting pitcher Alek Manoah (7-1) pitched six scoreless innings and allowed six hits and three walks. He also struck out four.
“He’s obviously a really good starter, and he’s one of the best in the league,” Isbel said. “He had a lot working for him tonight. He didn’t really miss over the plate much. His two-seam was running good. … His slider kept people off balance. He was running the heaters to all quadrants of the zone. He was tough. He’s a good pitcher.”
Manoah (7-1) entered the night with a 1.98 ERA through 10 starts. He had struck out 57 batters and walked just 10 in 63 2/3 innings.
Opposing hitters had batted .207 against Mahoah, and he hadn’t allowed more than three runs in any outing this season. He’d also pitched at least five innings in each outing.
The Royals (17-37) went 0 for 5 with runners in scoring position, and they left multiple runners on base in both the fifth and sixth innings against Manoah.
Each time they came up with runners in scoring position, they put balls in play, but they were hauled in by defenders.
The Royals stranded two men on base in the fifth after consecutive one-out hits by Isbel and Emmanuel Rivera. Nicky Lopez and Whit Merrifield hit infield grounders to end the inning.
In the sixth, the Royals left the bases loaded after a two-out single by Salvador Perez and back-to-back walks by MJ Melendez and Carlos Santana. Isbel’s fly ball ended the inning.
“It’s obviously frustrating when you’re walking back to the dugout,” Isbel said. “But at the same time, if you’re putting good swings on balls, then that’s all you can control, really.”
Isbel was the lone Royal with two hits (2 for 3), while Santana reached base three times (one hit, two walks). Andrew Benintendi, Perez, and Rivera had one hit apiece for the Royals. They did not have an extra-base hit.
Bullpen can’t pick up Keller
Meanwhile, Royals starting pitcher Brad Keller (1-7) gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out four.
“I felt like I had my really good fastball command,” Keller said. “I felt like I had a really good fastball, both four-seam and sinker. I felt like I did a good job of attacking them.”
Keller has allowed three earned runs or fewer in seven of his team-leading 11 starts this season. Yet he’s still looking for his second win of the season. He has lost his last four starts.
Keller gave up two runs on three consecutive hits in the second inning, starting with a one-out single up the middle by Alejandro Kirk. Santiago Espinal followed with a double to center field that put runners on second and third. Blue Jays offseason acquisition Matt Chapman belted a two-run double to left field.
The single was on fairly soft contact, but Keller credited Espinal for hitting a good pitch. The slider Chapman hit was a “mistake” pitch according to Keller.
Keller got a pair of ground balls to end the inning. Those runs provided all the scoring in the game until the seventh inning. The third run charged to Keller scored after he’d been taken out of the game and handed it off to the bullpen.
“Just the second there hurt him with single, double, double,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said. “Should’ve been all he gave up. Obviously, he got himself in a little bind in the seventh. We’ve got to help him out. Unfortunately, we threw a couple more on him and put it out of range. He was good, had good stuff.”
In the seventh, Keller gave up a single to Kirk, his third in three at-bats against Keller, and a single to Espinal. Matheny then brought in right-handed sinker-ball pitcher Collin Snider.
Snider got a double play on a line-out to shortstop that got the lead runner doubled off at second base. Then Raimel Tapia hit an RBI double to drive in the game’s third run and close the book on Keller for the night.
However, the Blue Jays (33-22) weren’t done. Royals relievers allowed four runs in the final three innings.
After the double to give up Keller’s final run, Snider walked back-to-back batters and the third pitcher of the inning, Dylan Coleman, entered with two outs and the bases loaded. Coleman walked the first batter he faced, forcing in a run, and then a wild pitch allowed a third run to score in the inning.
The Royals trailed 5-0 going into the bottom of the seventh.
Reliever Taylor Clarke gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in the final two innings.
“It’s a long season,” Keller said. “We’ve still got tons of games left. We’re kind of going through a rough patch right now. It happens to everybody in every season. Whether or not it’s a long rough patch or a short one is up to us. I just think, with anything, you’ve just got to keep grinding, keep going, nose to the grindstone.”
This story was originally published June 7, 2022 at 10:34 PM.
