Royals' Tough Start to July Continues in Series-Clinching Loss at Colorado
A quality start from Major League Baseball's co-leader in pitching wins and a shutout performance by the bullpen was not enough for the Royals to get the job done Saturday. Kansas City's record in the month of July dropped to 1-4 as the Colorado Rockies turned in a great pitching outing and secured the series win.
Right-hander Seth Lugo entered the game tied with the Atlanta Braves' Chris Sale at 11 wins each, but was tagged with his third loss of the campaign. That was largely thanks to a second-inning home run by 2023 Gold Glove winner Brenton Doyle. The two-run blast would have been enough to beat the Royals by itself, as the Rockies won 3-1. Lugo tossed six innings and surrendered three runs. The third came in the bottom of the fifth inning.
After the third inning, Lugo allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base in two straight frames. The second such occurrence was a Sam Hilliard bunt single. Hilliard, who rejoined the Rockies (32-57) after spending 2023 in Atlanta, was batting in the number nine spot. Third baseman Ryan McMahon drove him home.
The Royals' offense struggled the entire night, with the exception of right fielder Hunter Renfroe: Renfroe logged three hits. His contributions did not affect the scoring column, and despite an eight-hit night, Kansas City (48-43) picked up only a single run. Rockies left-handed Austin Gomber was a one-game winner coming into his 17th start of the campaign Saturday; he left with two wins on his season ledger after throwing seven innings of one-run baseball.
First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino hit his 11th home run of 2024 with two outs in the sixth inning. However, he didn't do it with anybody on base and was thus unable to tie the game or even shrink the deficit to one. As a team, the Royals left seven on base, and more critically went 0-4 with runners in scoring position.
The bullpen did its part to give Kansas City a fighting chance. Sam Long, who entered in relief of Lugo, overcame a two-out double by Colorado leadoff man Charlie Blackmon in the seventh and stranded him. In the eighth inning, 2023 World Series champion Chris Stratton surrendered back-to-back singles to lead off the frame but induced a double play and then an inning-ending lineout by Jake Cave.
Unfortunately for the Royals, the Rockies' bullpen was similarly difficult to crack, though the pressure on that unit is lessened significantly when the starter goes seven innings. Tyler Kinley and Victor Vodnik combined to allow just two hits. Kinley faced the minimum three batters in his inning. Vodnik stranded the tying run at first base to close out a two-hour, 15-minute game. The home team's 1-for-7 mark with runners in scoring position did not prove costly.
As for the Royals, the team needs a win in the worst of ways. Matt Quatraro's squad has now dropped a series to the NL West's last-place team, albeit on the road. Sunday brings an afternoon game on a big day for the Rockies. Right-handed pitcher Tanner Gordon has been called up for his MLB debut. He will face Brady Singer at 2:10 p.m. CT.
