Walks cost Royals for second consecutive game

KANSAS CITY -- For the second time in as many games, the Royals mounted an improbable comeback only to see it fall short because of too many walks and free bases given by their pitchers.

The 18 runs the Royals have scored in the past two games have not been enough to outdo the 16 walks allowed by Kansas City’s pitching staff, including seven in Friday night’s 12-8 loss to the A’s at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals have lost seven of their last nine games despite averaging five runs per game. Friday’s loss was their 15th at home.

“The offense is clicking right now,” starter Brad Keller said after allowing a season-high seven runs (six earned) in 4 1/3 innings. “They almost made an unbelievable comeback today. It’s frustrating on our end that we’re not able to keep the other team at bay for our team to go out there and show out.”

The Royals aimed to turn their pitching staff around this season with a simple message: Throw strikes. Instead of picking at the edges of the zone, throw it down the middle and trust the movement on your pitches will keep it out of the heart of the plate. They made shirts that have their motto, “Raid the Zone," printed on the back. But they have lost that approach recently.

“The pitchers knew before that their goal is to throw strikes,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We didn’t have to tell them that. They’re aware of that, they’re very accountable for that. They know that’s what their goal is, to force the other team to hit. Sometimes, it’s a lot harder to do than it is to talk about. And right now, we’re in a funk.”

On top of the 16 walks in the past two games, the Royals have thrown five wild pitches (one each from Keller and reliever Josh Taylor on Friday) and hit one batter.

“We don’t expect to do that,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “That's what’s frustrating. We know our guys can perform better than that. And they know that. That’s where the frustration comes.

“We’re not seeing the best version of ourselves right now, and that’s the frustrating part.”

In the third inning Friday, Keller walked leadoff hitter Ryan Noda and fell behind Brent Rooker. Keller threw a breaking ball in the zone, and Rooker turned on it for a 423-foot two-run homer. Ramón Laureano followed with a 440-foot shot on a hanging 2-2 slider.

Keller is worst in the Majors in walks allowed so far this season and has more walks (28) than strikeouts (25). In previous starts, he’s pushed back on the notion that his delivery has been the cause of the lack of command. On Friday, he noted that the focus of his work in between starts has been on his “tempo, direction, front side” but that once he took the mound, that work got away from him.

If there are one or two things that are causing his command struggles, he’s still searching for the answers.

“Honestly, I’m not really sure,” Keller said. “I feel like if it’s one thing, it’s the next. So I really need to hone in on what it is and fix it in between starts. … Just trying to figure it out and be consistent. Try to work in better counts. I failed to do all that today.”

Keller’s night almost didn’t matter with the way the offense worked against A’s starter Kyle Muller and the Oakland bullpen. Nick Pratto put the Royals on the board with a two-run, 422-foot homer to center field in the fourth.

“It’s just hard when the team’s not performing as well as we know we can,” Pratto said. “As far as my end here, I’m ready to contribute. It’s all going to come together.”

After Matt Duffy’s sacrifice fly and Hunter Dozier’s triple in the seventh inning Friday, the Royals were within a run and had momentum on their side. But Taylor entered the game and walked the first batter he faced. The Royals intentionally walked pinch-hitter Jesús Aguilar to load the bases with one out and have Taylor face Shea Langeliers, but the A’s catcher lifted a sacrifice fly. Tony Kemp followed with a walk.

And Taylor’s wild pitch scored the second run.

“At the beginning of the season, our pitchers were doing really well, and we weren’t scoring runs,” Dozier said. “Now, it’s flipped a little bit. … We’ve got a young group here, and we’re building. We’re trying to build it the right way. So, it’s all part of it.”