BALTIMORE — Miseries continued for the Kansas City Royals, who completed an 0-6 road trip through Baltimore and Miami.
Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson’s home run off reliever Jackson Kowar traveled so far, and was hit so hard, Sunday afternoon that not only did it hit Eutaw Street beyond the right-field seats, but it bounced up and hit off the warehouse that overlooks Camden Yards, next to a second-floor window.
It was the final dagger in the Royals’ 11-3 series-finale loss to the and encapsulated Kansas City’s three-game set this weekend in Baltimore.
The Royals were outmatched and outplayed. Emphatically.
“I don’t know how (my teammates) feel about it, but I’m kind of frustrated a little bit,” veteran catcher and Royals captain Salvador Perez said in a silent clubhouse. “At the same time, it’s part of the game. It’s not the way we want to go. Today is over. We’re not going to change it. We’re going to try to forget about it. Tomorrow is a new day, and we’ll try to do our best again.”
The six-game losing streak is Kansas City’s second-longest skid this season, one shy of matching a seven-game skid the Royals had in April. It was the longest winless trip since 2017, when Kansas City went 0-7 on a trip to Texas and Chicago.
The Royals have been swept in a three-game series seven times this season, matching their 2022 total. They haven’t won a series in Baltimore since 2014.
“Obviously, disappointing to lose six games,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “How do we reset? We do the same thing we try to do every day. Every day is a new day. You come in with a new attitude. You start over and prepare for tomorrow just like you prepared for today. It didn’t work out well today, but today should have no effect on tomorrow whether it was positive or negative.”
The Royals were outscored 41-14 on the road trip. They did not pitch well, with a 7.60 ERA across the six games.
Royals opener Carlos Hernández gave up a three-spot in the first inning Sunday, shortly after the Royals had taken a 1-0 lead with Bobby Witt Jr.’s RBI double in the top of the frame.
Bulk pitcher Mike Mayers followed by allowing four runs in five innings — three of which came in the third inning, only a couple of moments after Perez had tied the game with his team-leading 13th homer of the season.
“Any time you put runs on the board, you need shutdown innings,” Mayers said.
Royals pitchers struck out just three Orioles hitters and walked five Sunday.
“(I need to) figure out why I’m getting less swing-and-miss, a little less chase on my slider than normally in the last two outings that I got in the previous three,” Mayers said. “… There were some good takes on it today, just below the zone or just off that are normally weak contact or swing-and-miss.”