Royals are shut out again as losing streak hits seven games in Baltimore

Lorenzo Cain let out a deep sigh, his mouth forming a wry smile as he faced his locker here at Camden Yards. It was late Wednesday night, the moments after a seventh straight loss, this one a 4-0 shutout to the Baltimore Orioles, and Cain could do little but take a deep breath and let it out.

“It’s just tough right now,” Cain said, his shoulders shuddering.

On the side of a quiet clubhouse, Cain, the Royals’ All-Star center fielder, had buried his head into his cell phone, his grey uniform still on. As the Royals suffered their second straight sweep on this road trip, Cain pondered the worst stretch of offense in franchise history.

In the past six games, the Royals had scored just four runs, the lowest six-game total in team history. In the past 57 innings, they had managed just three earned runs, a number out of place in the Dead Ball era.

The stretch began in a 5-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians last Thursday, the night the Royals squandered a one-run lead in the ninth. It has spanned the last six losses. On Wednesday, they were shut out for the second time in four days. Everywhere you look, there is an ugly offensive number.

“It’s very frustrating,” Cain said. “Because I know we’re all capable of playing a lot better. We just got to get it going. We’re all struggling right now, especially me. I just got to get going.”

In the moments after the loss, Cain shouldered the burden of the quiet stretch. He is just one of many. Shortstop Alcides Escobar was 1 for 4 on Wednesday, dropping to 3 for 29 on the road trip. Designated hitter Kendrys Morales was 1 for 4, dropping to 5 for 22.

Cain, meanwhile, is 3 for 23 since leaving Kansas City last week. First baseman Eric Hosmer is 5 for 20.

“It’s frustrating,” Hosmer said, echoing a theme. “We want to win games. We’re facing some good teams right now. Stuff is not going our way.”

If there was a positive to draw from Wednesday — which, yes, seemed like a funny thing to do after seven straight losses — it is this: The Royals entered the day just 2  1/2 games behind first-place Cleveland in the American League Central. The division will likely be a race for much of the summer. On Wednesday in Chicago, former Royals starter James Shields was shelled in his White Sox debut.

“It’s going to be like this all summer,” Royals manager Ned Yost said.

In the hours after the loss here in Baltimore, the Royals boarded a flight to Chicago, preparing for a much-needed off day Thursday before concluding a 10-game road trip with three games against the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field. Even after a putrid stretch of baseball, the Royals can still see the light.

“We’ve lost seven in a row, and we got big division games coming up, and we’re 2  1/2 games behind Cleveland,” Hosmer said. “This spot in June, that’s plenty of time. We just try to wash this away and try to play better baseball.”

On Wednesday, the offense was powerless against Baltimore right-hander Chris Tillman, who scattered eight hits over 7  1/3 scoreless innings. The Royals struck out 12 times while walking just once.

The only walk came in the top of the eighth inning, when the Royals loaded the bases against Tillman and reliever Brad Brach. Salvador Perez represented the tying run. He ran the count to 0-2 before lining out to left field.

The Royals’ offense was impotent for another night. The Orioles managed their four runs during a burst in the fifth inning.

Royals starter Edinson Volquez had opened his night allowing just one hit in four innings, retiring 12 of the first 13 batters he faced. He blew up during a laborious fifth inning.

Volquez loaded the bases by sandwiching two walks around a single. The dam broke on a one-out double from Ryan Flaherty. Adam Jones would add a sacrifice fly to left, stretching the Orioles’ lead to 3-0. Moments later, Volquez allowed a single to left fielder Hyun Soo Kim. Yost emerged from the dugout, his team staring at a 4-0 deficit.

It felt nearly insurmountable.

For four innings, Volquez was nearly unhittable. For seven hitters in the fifth, he could procure just one out. Yost summoned reliever Luke Hochevar, who ended the threat. The night, in most respects, was already lost.

“You guys want to talk about frustration,” Yost said, facing a group of reporters Wednesday night. “I try not to get frustrated. I know these guys are trying. We’re just not being very productive right now.”

Volquez dropped to 5-6 on the season, his ERA jumping to 4.25. The Royals, 30-28, have followed their finest stretch of the season with their worst. For the first time since August 24, 2013, the Royals have lost seven in a row. After four lost days in Cleveland and three here in Baltimore, a clubhouse of big leaguers was ready for a day off.

“I definitely don’t recall the last losing streak like this,” Cain said. “It’s definitely tough to go through. But we got the players capable of bouncing out of it and hopefully getting out of it real quick. We definitely need to get going.”

Orioles 4, Royals 0

LOB: Kansas City 9, Baltimore 4. 2B: Cuthbert (4), Reimold (5), Flaherty (3). RBIs: Jones (32), Kim (4), Flaherty 2 (7). SB: Kim (1). SF: Jones.

Runners left in scoring position: Kansas City 3 (Perez 2, Cuthbert); Baltimore 2 (Jones, Machado). RISP: Kansas City 0 for 4; Baltimore 2 for 5. Runners moved up: Flaherty. DP: Baltimore 1 (Flaherty, Machado).

Inherited runners-scored: Hochevar 1-0, Brach 2-0.

Umpires: Home, CB Bucknor; First, Fieldin Culbreth; Second, Jim Reynolds; Third, Manny Gonzalez. Time: 2:47. Att: 19,178.

This story was originally published June 8, 2016 at 9:05 PM with the headline "Royals are shut out again as losing streak hits seven games in Baltimore."