KC Royals lose key leadoff hitter to injury in rough road trip start

The Kansas City Royals are starting their first lengthy road trip of the season in shaky fashion, dropping yet another series to their AL Central rival Cleveland Guardians. The lineup has been somewhat problematic from top to bottom. Still, a possible injury to their leadoff man in Jonathan India made the run-scoring situation go from bad to worse on Saturday.

The utilityman left in the sixth inning of a 6-3 loss to the Guardians with seemingly no reason. However, the broadcast later revealed India running down to first base in the third inning with a grimace on his face and a quick turn to the dugout.

After that, India stayed in the game, still out in left field, and made another trip to the plate. He worked a walk from Guardians starter Luis L. Ortiz, who had a career night, and later went from first to third on a hit from first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino.

What happened to KC Royals leadoff man Jonathan India (injury concerns)?

India didn't seem to be at full speed rounding second base, and the Royals dugout noticed. After the top of the inning ended with India standing on third, the leadoff man was slow to exit the field. Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro met India on the first base line, and India was visibly frustrated as he walked off the diamond. It didn't take a lip reader to see that.

Kansas City quickly made defensive changes to take India out, with Drew Waters playing right field and MJ Melendez shifting from right to left field. With Waters taking India's spot in the lineup, Kansas City's productive leadoff man was out of the game, worsening a scoring rut for the Royals.

MLB.com's Anne Rogers reported India left the game with right quad tightness and that Quatraro described it as "mild." Any lower-body injury is worrisome for a player like India, relying on his legs and quick reaction in the field or base paths. The Royals did not have any more substantial updates following Saturday's loss, saying India would be evaluated further on Sunday.

While Quatraro partially attributed Inida's injury to a frigid Cleveland environment, the same could be said of Kansas City's ice-cold batting.

India, who was riding a lengthy on-base streak, is slashing .130/.259/.174 across the last seven games, with one run scored and one RBI. Kansas City hasn't scored more than four runs since Apr. 4, going 5-4 in that same span. The Royals currently sit third in the division, with trips to the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers waiting in the coming week.