Royals can’t recover from shaky first inning in 6-2 loss to Los Angeles Angels

Within six minutes of the first pitch Monday night, the Royals’ Ian Kennedy already loaded the bases. Things eventually settled down from a seemingly calamitous start, but the result still didn’t see-saw. Kansas City dipped further below .500 in a 6-2 loss to the Angels, falling to 48-50 in front of 33,828 at Kauffman Stadium.

Los Angeles did most of its damage early, scoring four runs in the top of the first. Yunel Escobar set the stage at the top of the order, immediately laying a single into right field. Kennedy threw him an assist by walking both Kole Calhoun and Mike Trout before Albert Pujols stepped to the plate. Pujols slipped a single straight up the middle, scoring both Calhoun and Escobar for an early 2-0 lead.

A Daniel Nava sacrifice fly to center brought Trout home. Pujols scored the Angels’ fourth run of the inning after Carlos Perez popped a short grounder into the left infield.

Kennedy finally escaped the first inning by forcing Johnny Giavotella into a swinging strikeout. But by that point, the Royals found themselves in a 4-0 hole, without the dynamic offense necessary to play catch-up.

“(Kennedy’s) command was off,” manager Ned Yost said. “Got through the first, then came back in and made some adjustments and did a nice job of holding it right there, giving us a chance to crawl back in.”

“It's one of those feelings where you're trying to find it and search for it,” Kennedy said. “And it didn't come to me until about the second or third inning. By that time, it was too late.”

Like Kennedy, it took the Royals’ batters time to settle in. Before Monday’s game, Kansas City had scored the fewest runs in the American League, and those struggles at the plate showed early. The Royals went three-up, three-down in the first, and tallied one hit through the first three innings.

The Royals left two on base in the second, wasting an Alex Gordon walk and a Paulo Orlando single to right that found gravity a split second before a fielder’s glove.

Salvador Perez eventually cranked a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth, scoring Gordon and drawing the Royals to within 4-2.

“Salvy’s big two-run homer was nice,” Yost said. “But we just couldn’t do anything after that.”

The pivotal moment for the Royals’ offense came in the bottom of the fifth, when Kendrys Morales stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. Alcides Escobar had beaten the tag to first base, Cheslor Cuthbert used an overturned call on the field to reach first and Eric Hosmer walked. Momentum seemed to finally be on the home team’s side. But Morales, swinging on an 0-2 pitch, sent them all back to the dugout, still trailing 4-2.

Pujols just piled on more for the Angels. In the top of the seventh, he batted in Trout from second with a ripping single to right field. His hit to center field in the top of the ninth brought Giavotella around for the 6-2 final score.

“We know it's still doable,” Hosmer said of this season. “We know there's still hope. That's kind of the message.That's what everyone feels like in here. If there's a team to do it, it's definitely this group.”

The loss, coming in the first of a three-game set against the Angels, put the Royals in yet another series hole. Kansas City hasn’t won a series since June 27-30 against the Cardinals. In the span since then, they’ve gone 6-14.

“We’ve been down four runs in the eighth inning against Oakland; we were down four runs in the eighth inning in an elimination game against Houston,” Yost said. “These guys know how to come back. Nobody in there is giving up. They still have confidence that they can compete for a playoff spot, and so do I.”

Angels 6, Royals 2

This story was originally published July 25, 2016 at 10:41 PM with the headline "Royals can’t recover from shaky first inning in 6-2 loss to Los Angeles Angels."