The Royals needed to do something, and quick. So they put one of their most highly-toted prospects onthe mound, in hopes of giving this team a spark. Luke Hochevar made an appearance for the Royals, and was roughed up for 6 innings. Not what the Royals needed to pull them from this slump, and they get swept in Oakland, by a score of 1-7.
Hochevar pitched out of trouble in the first few innings, and did not allow any runs. It wasn’t until the 4th inning that things got out of control. The A’s scored 5 runs in the 4th, and again never took their foot off the peddle. They cruised to another win today, and handing the Royals their forth straight lose, by sweeping them in sound fashion.
The only game of this series that the Royals were even in was the second one, where they lost the lead late, and never scored another run. Other than that it has been a dominating performance by the Oakland Athletics in this series. Each inning seemed to produce trouble for the Kansas City pitching staff, as they were always working out of a hole.
This lose drops the Royals below .500 for the first time this season, at 9-10, and drops them to 2 1/2 games behind division leading Chicago White Sox. Also tying them with the Minnesota Twins for 2nd.
They will be glad to return home, have a day off, and try to fix the problems that seem to be accumulating. They face the Indians of Cleveland next at Kaufman Stadium on Tuesday, April 22nd. Hopefully some home cooking can put that spark back in this lineup, and also get this pitching staff’s confidence back up. It is still very early, and the baseball season is a marathon, not a sprint. Shape up boys, you are better than you have been previously playing. Let’s turn that corner, and start winning again.