The Royals starting rotation has flexed its muscle this season, powering the team to its best start in years. But a June swoon was evident again Tuesday against the Yankees.
Royals starter Brady Singer gave up seven runs (six earned) in 5 2/3 innings, and the Yankees powered their way to an easy 10-1 win at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals rotation had a 3.04 ERA the first two months of the season, but have a 5.33 ERA in June, fifth worst in baseball.
The Yankees hit Singer for four runs in the fourth — three of them coming on an Austin Wells homer to center that made the score 6-0 Yankees.
“Definitely a good lineup, just wish I obviously would’ve made some better pitches there and stayed away from that bigger inning,” Singer said of the dreaded fourth inning.
In his two starts since returning to the rotation because of an illness, Singer (4-3) has yielded 10 runs (eight earned) in 9 1/3 innings. Singer gave up seven hits, struck out six and walked just one but nothing was easy against the Yankees (48-21).
“It was a struggle right out of the get-go just to get consistency in the zone,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “I think his stuff looked good. He threw some pretty good breaking balls and located some pretty good fastballs but just not enough consistently early to keep them off the board.
“And just how hard he had to work to get them out, that’s going to take its toll over the course of the game.”
Yankees starter Marcus Stroman (6-2) pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings, giving up four hits and three walks and one strikeout.
The Royals (39-29) trailed 10-0 in the seventh after Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton hit homers off Royals reliever Nick Anderson. The Royals scored their lone run on a Freddy Fermin homer in the eighth.
The Royals have now lost three in a row and 10 of their last 15, but Bobby Witt Jr. said the team will bounce back.
“I think we just got to play our game and not try to do too much,” Witt said. “And don’t try to overthink things and just prepare the same way we’ve been doing, concentrate and play our game because if we do that we can compete with any team.”
PRATTO, WATERS CALLED UP
Prior to Tuesday’s game the Royals called up first baseman Nick Pratto and outfielder Drew Waters from Triple-A Omaha and placed outfielder Hunter Renfro on the injured list (broken toe) and infielder Adam Frazier on the bereavement list.
Waters started in right field and went 0 for 4. Pratto didn’t bat but made his MLB pitching debut, throwing a scoreless ninth with a hit and a strikeout.
