The first three innings provide most of the runs scored in the game.
The Royals were able to put up runs early in the game. They went back and forth with the Brewers but the game fell apart for Kansas City in the third inning. They were never able to recover from the bottom of the third inning.
Kansas City struck first off of a Salvador Perez solo home run as the third batter of the game. Perez hit a low sinker to the deepest part of American Family Field.
Christian Yelich followed that up with a solo shot in the bottom of the first inning to tie the game at one.
The Royals added three more runs over the next couple of innings. Bobby Whitt Jr. hit a two-run double in the second inning. Then Hunter Dozier hit a sac fly in the third.
The Brewers’ offense came alive in the third inning. Despite having a three-run lead in the bottom of the third Jordan Lyles struggled to find his command. Lyles walked back-to-back batters to start the inning. He then threw two more balls to start the at-bat to Yelich. Yelich continued to cause problems for Kansas City as he singled to right field.
The inning really got away from Kansas City when Yelich attempted to steal second. Perez popped out of his stance and threw the ball to second. Maikel Garcia moved his gloved too quickly, allowing the ball to roll into center field. Yelcih then headed for third. A bad throw Nate Eaton bounced off the third base coach’s foot sending the ball toward home plate. However, with Yelich’s speed, there was no chance for Dozier to make a play on the ball. Royals Manager Matt Quatraro referred to the inning as a comedy of errors.
Lyles would only get one out in the inning and allowed four runs to score. Kansas City would pull him sending in Jose Cuas to finish the inning. Cuas come into the game with one out in the inning and runners on second and third. After getting one out he gave up a three-run home run leaving a slider over the middle of the plate. The Brewers would bat around scoring seven runs, on four hits in the inning, making the score 8-4.
Quatraro said poor play and walks contributed to the huge inning.
“The walks really come back to hurts us,” Quatraro said. “It wasn’t a very clean inning defensively pitching. They earned it with some well-hit balls but we definitely helped.”
The Brewers added to their lead with another solo home run in the seventh.
The Royals did not give up in the ninth inning. Dozier started the ninth and added one run on a solo home run. It was the first hit Kansas City had since the third inning. Whitt Jr. hit the team’s second home run of the inning. It was too little too late as Kansas City was swept by the Brewers.
The home runs hit by Kansas City continue the Royals’ historic franchise streak of hitting the long ball. From May second to the fourteenth Kansas City has hit at least one home run. That is the second-longest streak in Royals history. During this streak, Kansas City had eight players with a home run.
The Royals head back out to California to take on the San Diego Padres. First pitch is at 8:00.
