How the Royals' 8-run rally fell apart by walks 

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals could overcome a seven-run deficit, but they could not overcome leadoff walks and a late-inning bullpen collapse.

An inning after the Royals took the lead for the first time in the series finale, lefty reliever Aroldis Chapman walked three, allowed four stolen bases and the go-ahead two-run single in the eighth inning of a 13-10 loss to the Orioles on Thursday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. The O’s scored five in the final two innings to hand Kansas City its seventh straight series loss and 14th loss (2-14) at The K.

“We didn’t help ourselves at all, especially those last couple innings with the walks,” manager Matt Quatraro said.

The offense did all it could to help out the pitching staff. The Royals have made it clear that this year is about evaluating the young talent to see what pieces they have when they are ready to emerge from their rebuild.

Kansas City got on the board with MJ Melendez's double and Maikel Garcia’s RBI single in the second. Trailing 8-1 in the third, Freddy Fermin hit his first Major League homer, and Salvador Perez -- the only Royals’ position player in the lineup older than 27 years old -- followed with a two-run blast. Kyle Isbel hit his first home run of the season in the fourth, followed by Fermin’s triple and Vinnie Pasquantino’s RBI single.

The win probability chart inched closer toward Kansas City when the Royals came within one run in the fifth on Michael Massey’s RBI double. Quatraro turned to lefty Austin Cox for his Major League debut in the sixth -- in a high-leverage situation. Cox, who could carve out a role in the bullpen or get a chance as a starter in the future, became the eighth player and sixth pitcher from the Royals’ 2018 Draft class to reach the Majors.

He tossed two scoreless innings and recorded his first strikeout in the seventh with an elevated 93-mph fastball to Anthony Santander.

“When I was jogging in, I realized it was a one-run game, and I wanted to do everything I could to keep it that way and give us a chance to win the ballgame,” Cox said. “I couldn’t feel my legs at first.”

The Royals put together the final pieces of their rally in the seventh. Garcia, who is 5-for-12 since his promotion on Tuesday, roped a leadoff double and stole third. Massey walked, and Isbel laid down a perfect bunt to tie the game, legging out an infield single. The only downside to that play was that Isbel strained his left hamstring.

Bobby Witt Jr. came through moments later to give the Royals their first lead of the day.

“Tons of positive stuff throughout on the offensive side,” Quatraro said. “It seems like the timing has been better. Usually, when your timing is better, you make better swing decisions. And when you make better swing decisions, you hit balls harder.”

After a brutal offensive start this season, the Royals have seen improvement lately. In the past seven games, Kansas City has posted a .903 OPS with 31 extra-base hits.

The Royals have stressed patience as their young hitters learn on the fly and make adjustments. Take Massey, for example. The second baseman had walked just once (and it came on a pitch timer violation in Minnesota) entering this week’s series against Baltimore. But he went 3-for-9 with three walks, including two on Thursday, over the past three games. Massey has always been a mechanical hitter, meaning he’s used to focusing on his mechanics at the plate.

That approach got him to Kansas City, but he needed to adjust when it wasn’t working.

“I just needed to get back to seeing the ball,” Massey said. “Focus on seeing what you’re supposed to hit. … It’s just that fine line of, ‘OK, that’s not working here.’ Now just trying to find a way to do my mechanics before the game, so when you’re in the game, you’re focusing on seeing the ball and trusting that all the work we just did will come with muscle memory.”

Comeback nearly complete, the Royals failed to finish it.

The Royals walked nine batters Thursday. Two came from starter Jordan Lyles, who also hit a batter, threw two wild pitches and allowed eight runs (six earned) in five innings.

“I’ve got to eliminate the free passes,” Lyles said. “All season, not just me, but everyone on the pitching side. Those are turning into runs. We’ve got to do a little bit better. A lot better.”