'Frustrating' week encapsulated by missed opportunities 

KANSAS CITY -- The Royals have avoided losing streaks longer than three games this season, making it a point to move on from losses quickly to get ready for the next game.

They’ll have to do it again Sunday after another tough 7-3 loss to the Padres on Saturday afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals have lost three in a row and six of their last seven games. Now, they’re in danger of being swept by San Diego in a weekend series that kicks off a tough stretch of opponents as the calendar flips to June.

Including this current series, the Royals are at the beginning of playing 20 of 29 games against teams currently over .500 across the month of June. They also only have two off days this month.

“We’re definitely still preaching [a day-by-day mindset],” first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “It doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating. I don’t know what the right thing to say is. Have we gotten beat? Have we beat ourselves? You can go both ways with it if you analyze the games. It’s just frustrating.

“... It’s a results-based business. Process-oriented sport, though. Sometimes those two things don’t line up, and right now, they’re not. Doesn’t matter, but we are in there working. We’re not trying to let this happen. But it is right now, and we’ve got to just wear it. Wear it today. But the beautiful thing is, we’re back out there tomorrow.”

The Royals have proven themselves to be comeback kings, with rallies late in games no matter the score. They had chances to do so throughout Saturday, but the big hit was elusive.

In the seventh, they loaded the bases for Pasquantino, who entered that inning with three hits and three RBIs -- and a triple shy of the cycle. But he struck out swinging against Jeremiah Estrada to end the inning.

“Great spot for him right there,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “We know [Estrada] prior to yesterday had struck out 13 straight guys. The at-bats we put together against him, I feel very confident when Vinnie’s at the plate, especially on a day where he was clearly seeing the ball well.”

In the eighth, there were two on base and two outs for Freddy Fermin, who hit a weak popout to second base to end the inning.

A two-run deficit turned into four runs when the Padres plated two in the ninth against Nick Anderson, once again highlighting the Royals’ bullpen woes.

“We didn’t do enough on offense today,” Pasquantino said. “... I wish I could have that fourth at-bat back. Few highs early, few lows late.”

The Padres’ contact-oriented lineup gave the Royals' pitching staff fits again Saturday; starter Alec Marsh allowed seven hits and five runs in five innings, with three walks and three strikeouts.

“I think mechanical efficiency was probably a little off today,” Marsh said. “But regardless, if that’s on or off, it’s about needing to still make pitches. So just keep that up in the head and move forward.”

In the fourth, a double play that wasn’t almost immediately turned into a big inning for the Padres. With two on base and one out, Jackson Merrill fouled a pitch that bounced in the batter’s box and toward Pasquantino at first base, who started what he thought was going to be a double play.

It wasn’t until after Marsh had run over to first base to complete the double play that home-plate umpire Andy Fletcher signaled the foul call. Replay showed it was foul, but Quatraro came out to argue about the timing. Fletcher told Quatraro that third-base umpire Jansen Visconti had signaled the foul right away and that the ball had clipped the top of Merrill’s shoe.

“It’s a swing spot in the game,” Quatraro said. “But we have to be good enough to be able to minimize the damage.”

Marsh wasn’t able to, allowing a single to Merrill on a changeup. Then, Marsh got behind to Ha-Seong Kim and left a sweeper up in the zone that Kim drove to center field for a bases-clearing double and a 5-3 Padres lead.

“Whatever the call is, I don’t really care,” Marsh said. “The next pitch has to be better. It’s just going back to, ‘I’ve got to make a better pitch.’ I always try to take the brunt of the damage. I’m the one with the ball. If it was foul or if it wasn’t, that’s the call that was made. So we’ve got to refocus and still make that next pitch and make it better than what it was.”