Kansas City Royals Bullpen Implodes in 7-6 Loss

Typically, handing a 5-1 lead to the duo of Wade Davis and Greg Holland would almost automatically lead to a Kansas City Royals victory. Instead, the Royals bullpen imploded, surrendering six runs over the final two innings as the Angels sent Kansas City to a 7-6 loss.

The Royals jumped on the board early, as consecutive singles from Alcides Escobar and Ben Zobrist put runners at the corners. Lorenzo Cain singled to right to plate Escobar, giving the Royals a 1-0 lead. Los Angeles tied the game in the top of the fourth, as David Murphy doubled with two out, and scored on Conor Gillaspie’s base hit.

Kansas City broke the tie in the bottom of the sixth. The Royals put runners on second and third with one out, and Alex Rios hit a sacrifice fly give the Royals the lead. With two out, Drew Butera singled up the middle, as the Royals entered the seventh with a 3-1 advantage.

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At that point, the game was in the hands of the Kansas City Royals bullpen. Jeremy Guthrie had a strong outing, allowing one run on two hits and three walks in six innings, striking out two. Ryan Madson took care of the top of the seventh, and the Royals offense added a bit of breathing room, as Hosmer had another RBI base hit, and scored on Kendrys Morales‘ double. With a 5-1 lead heading into the eighth, the game seemed to be about over.

Instead, disaster. Wade Davis allowed a leadoff single to Kole Calhoun, who scored on Mike Trout‘s double. After a groundout moved Trout to third, he scored on another ground out, cutting the lead to two. Even though the game was close, with Greg Holland set to come in, victory seemed to be almost certain.

However, Holland’s occasional struggles this season came to a head in the top of the ninth. He faced six batters, allowing each one to reach base on four hits and two walks. Two two run doubles gave the Angels a 7-5 lead, as Holland was removed without recording an out.

The Royals pulled closer, as Hosmer homered with two out in the ninth, and Kansas City put runners on first and second before Huston Street was able to get Rios to fly out to end the game. While the 7-6 defeat only costs one game in the standings, it was certainly a difficult loss for the Kansas City Royals to endure, as their formidable bullpen proved to be mortal.

Hosmer was 2-5 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI in the loss.

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