How it all went so wrong for the Kansas City Royals against Cleveland Wednesday night
Kansas City Royals reliever Austin Cox made his first major-league start Wednesday night. And things look good for a while.
But after two scoreless innings, Cox ran into trouble against the Cleveland Guardians.
In the third, Jose Ramirez hit his fifth career grand slam into the Guardians’ bullpen at Kauffman Stadium. Cleveland slugged three homers in all en route to a 14-1 victory.
Cox allowed four runs in 3 2/3 innings of work. He walked four batters in the third, including Steven Kwan and Amed Rosario consecutively, setting the stage for Ramirez. Cox threw 39 of 68 pitches for strikes.
“I feel like I put myself in that situation, walking two guys before (the homer),” Cox said. “That’s where I think the focus has to be.”
And the Guardians weren’t done there. The Royals allowed 14 unanswered runs until Freddy Fermin singled in KC’s only run in the seventh inning. Fermin’s base hit scored Drew Waters, who doubled to begin the frame.
“We couldn’t sustain anything and put a couple things together to create any runs,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said.
The Royals recorded just five hits all night. Waters went 2-for-3 with a double and a walk. Royals batters struck out 11 times in the game.
The Royals dropped to 22-58 this season and will look to salvage a win in the series finale Thursday afternoon.
“It’s baseball and things happen,” Waters said. “Not everything is going to go your way. The cool thing is we get to play tomorrow and bounce back.”
Missed previous games of the series?
Game 1: Royals drop series opener in 2-1 loss to Guardians
Here are more notables from Wednesday’s game:
Nicky Lopez exits with hand injury
Royals infielder Nicky Lopez exited Wednesday’s game with a right-hand contusion. He is day-to-day.
Lopez was hit by a pitch in the third inning. He was struck by a 92.3 mph fastball by Guardians starter Logan Allen.
The Royals’ training staff immediately attended to Lopez on the field. He stayed in the game to finish the third inning on the base paths.
But Lopez was replaced prior to the fourth inning. Samad Taylor shifted from left field to second base. Meanwhile, Dairon Blanco entered the game as a defensive replacement. Blanco batted ninth in the lineup.
“(He got) an X-ray. No break and just a contusion.” Quatraro said after the game. “It’s day-to-day and we will see how he feels tomorrow.”
James McArthur hit hard in MLB debut
Royals reliever James McArthur made his first MLB appearance against the Guardians. And it was a difficult outing for the talented prospect.
McArthur allowed seven runs in the sixth inning, the Guardians tagging him for six extra-base hits. The major blow was Bo Naylor’s two-run homer — Naylor’s first home run in his 13th career game.
“I thought he handled himself well,” Quatraro said of McArthur. “The results weren’t obviously what he or anyone else would’ve liked to see. I do feel badly for him for that.”
The Royals recalled McArthur from Triple-A Omaha on Saturday. He was acquired from the Philadelphia Phillies on May 8.
What’s next: The Royals will finish their three-game series against the Guardians Thursday. Zack Greinke will start the afternoon game against Cleveland’s Shane Bieber at Kauffman Stadium.
This story was originally published June 28, 2023 at 10:18 PM.
