Royals rue missed tag in second straight loss of crucial series

KANSAS CITY -- In a game of inches, the Royals did not measure up on Tuesday night in their 6-5 loss to the Red Sox at Kauffman Stadium.

Despite a comeback effort in the eighth inning with MJ Melendez’s clutch two-run double, the turning point of Tuesday’s game came on a wild pitch and a ground ball with an expected batting average of .150.

The wild pitch was the go-ahead run for the Red Sox. The grounder that escaped through the infield gave the Red Sox two big insurance runs that were crucial in holding off the Royals’ late-innings comeback.

And suddenly a big series just got even bigger as the Royals look to avoid a sweep at home in Wednesday’s finale and stay ahead of Boston in the American League Wild Card standings, with their lead on the Red Sox for the third spot dwindling to a half-game after the loss.

“It’s a game of inches,” Royals starter Seth Lugo said. “One or two things happen a different way, it’s a completely different ballgame. That’s the way baseball goes.”

The defeat also means the Royals lost the season series to the Red Sox, who hold the tiebreaker with the better head-to-head record if they’re tied for a playoff spot at the end of the season.

“There are some repercussions for these losses,” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “Worst-case scenario, if both of us are fighting for the [third Wild Card], they own the season series now. As far as that goes, that stinks. But at the end of the day, what is to come is in front of us. … Every game is big. So [we need to] just keep stacking wins, and we haven’t done that the past two nights.

“That’s frustrating, but we have another opportunity to get back after Boston tomorrow. And we’re excited about that opportunity.”

Lugo struggled with command with a career-high-tying four walks (one intentional), but he largely pitched his way out of jams and kept the Royals in the game. He finished the fifth inning with a massive bases-loaded strikeout of Connor Wong, which then allowed the Royals to erase their deficit in the bottom of the frame.

Michael Massey made up for his second-inning error with a Statcast-projected 434-foot solo home run to the fountains in right field. Pasquantino’s second RBI of the game scored Bobby Witt Jr. from first base.

But like Monday night, things fell apart in the sixth inning. At 88 pitches, Lugo went back out for the sixth and allowed a double to Dominic Smith and a single to Nick Sogard. David Hamilton struck out looking with runners on first and third, but Lugo threw a ball in the dirt that bounced to the backstop while facing Ceddanne Rafaela.

At first, it didn’t seem like Smith was going to attempt to score from third. Catcher Salvador Perez kept an eye on him as he ran to the ball, and when Smith broke for home, Perez whipped a throw to Lugo at the plate.

Smith recovered from the bad baserunning with a good slide, getting his hand on the plate as Lugo reached for Smith’s torso. Originally called out, a lengthy replay review overturned the close call.

“Nothing surprises me with replay,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “I can see that play going either way.”

“I wish I would have done a swipe tag,” Lugo, who was charged with six runs (four earned) in 5 1/3 innings, added. “I could tell I didn’t get his arm and that his hand got to the plate. I was hoping they didn’t have good enough video to show that. … When I caught it, I looked where he was coming into home plate. He had both hands, then pulled one hand back and got around. At that point, I’m just trying to tag him as fast as possible. And he got that arm around.”

Lugo shook his head as he walked back to the mound. Two pitches later, Rafaela walked on a check swing that Lugo thought should have been strike three.

Quatraro went to a lefty reliever in Sam Long, who saw a 92 mph grounder off the bat of Masataka Yoshida escape through the infield past Pasquantino’s glove for the two insurance runs and the difference in the game.

“We’re trying to do what we’ve been doing all season: Win games,” Melendez said. “We know where we’re at, but we know we’ve got to win every game. It doesn’t matter who it’s against. We have to come out firing tomorrow, get an early lead and keep going.”