KANSAS CITY -- Alec Marsh knows that he’s at his best when he’s “as relaxed as possible,” he says. That leads to good things on the mound: A good tempo, throwing strikes and getting ahead of hitters.

Recently, though, it’s taken Marsh an inning or so to get into that groove during his starts, and that can hinder him and the Royals. Marsh allowed five runs in five innings Tuesday night in the Royals’ 6-2 loss to the D-backs at Kauffman Stadium, snapping a four-game win streak coming out of the All-Star break.

Three of those runs came in the first inning.

“Probably came out of the gate a little too uppity,” Marsh said. “Trying to do too much early, and it cost us early.”

Marsh added on later: “You want to go out there and set the tone early, and [you’re] trying too hard. That’s the biggest challenge for me. That’s been there ever since I came to the big leagues, [and I’m] trying to harness that and slow down.”

Just over a year in the Majors, Marsh is still developing as a starter. He took a big step forward coming into 2024, earning the fifth rotation spot and getting off to a great start by going 4-1 with a 2.72 ERA through his first eight starts.

In his last 11 outings (10 starts), Marsh has gone 4-5 with a 6.37 ERA. He’s allowed 14 home runs this season, and 11 of them have come in his last 11 appearances.

“Finding his way, finding his groove,” manager Matt Quatraro said of Marsh’s first-inning struggles. “He has a good warmup routine, I think it’s just a matter of getting into game action and getting the adrenaline focused on the right spot. Not overthinking. All those things that everybody has to do.”

The D-backs jumped on Marsh from the start, loading the bases with a walk sandwiched between two singles. Corbin Carroll scored on Christian Walker’s sacrifice fly, and the D-backs had runners on first and third with two outs when Lourdes Gurriel Jr. stole second base.

“I was so convicted in the slider that [Gurriel] ended up stealing on [me],” Marsh said. “I took longer to the plate because I was really trying to get my arm up and get around the pitch, trying to make it better than what I should have.”

Then Gabriel Moreno drove a two-strike slider into center field for a two-run single.

Marsh had a long layoff, not having started since July 10 in St. Louis. He did make one relief appearance Friday against the White Sox, throwing 24 pitches in a scoreless inning and helping “bridge the gap” in between starts, Quatraro said.

Part of the reason the Royals mapped out their rotation like they did following the break was to give Marsh and Cole Ragans, who started Monday, some extra rest as their innings this season continue to build up quickly. Ragans has already blown past his career high at all levels with 122 2/3 innings. Marsh has a career high in big league innings at 96 2/3; his career high in pro ball came last year between Triple-A Omaha and the Majors with 136 2/3 innings total.

Both Marsh and Quatraro said they didn’t think the long layoff had an effect Tuesday. But the innings are something to monitor as the Royals manage their rotation and the race for a playoff spot.

Marsh settled down in the middle innings, retiring eight of the nine batters he faced with six strikeouts. But a double from No. 9 hitter Geraldo Perdomo opened the fifth inning, followed by Ketel Marte’s 21st home run of the season. Marsh was trying to get back in the count with a 2-0 changeup and thought Marte might look for spin because of a third-inning strikeout on a sweeper.

Instead, Marte sent the down-and-in changeup ringing off the foul pole.

“He’s one of their better hitters, so he’s a guy you got to be careful with in that situation,” Marsh said. “Maybe we come out of it [behind] 3-1 and the boys come back and it’s a different game. That’s on me.”

The Royals bookended Tuesday’s game with runs in the first and ninth inning but were unable to find any momentum in between.

“[Marsh] went out there, pitched his butt off, and gave us a chance to win,” right fielder Hunter Renfroe said. “That’s all we can ask for. We need to go out there and do a little better job of hitting and put some runs up for him.”