Three Takeaways From the Royals' 6-1 Loss to the Angels
The Royals stretch their losing streak to five games after getting swept by the Angels. The Royals have started the seven-game road trip 0-3.
Kansas City falls to 29-31 on the season while Los Angeles improves to 30-32.
Here are three things I took away from tonight's game.
The Royals left the offense in Kansas City.
After a successful homestand that saw the Royals produce at the plate, they have not seen the same results on the West Coast. The Royals scored a total of five runs in the three-game series, including one run each in the final two games. While it's easy to point fingers at the starting pitching, the offense has been just as bad. In the last two days, the first four in the lineup have gone a combined 4-for-28 with zero extra-base hits. Whit Merrifield and Salvador Perez both had two singles. That kind of production from the top of the order will not get it done.
Brad Keller was OK.
A quick glance at Brad Keller's pitching line and it does not look pretty. He had five earned runs and four walks. He was able to pitch into the sixth inning which was something the Royals desperately needed. Keller is supposed to be an innings eater and he did that for the most part on a night where he did not have his best stuff. He still needs to work on limiting the walks but his stuff looked good. Who knows how his game looks if pitch No.4 to Justin Upton is called a strike.
Royals vs. Angels and the home team's catcher.
Back in April, Salvador Perez terrorized the Angels in a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium and helped the Royals win two out of three. Angles catcher Max Stassi returned the favor in his home ballpark as he went 7-for-12 at the plate with two home runs, two doubles and five RBI. Stassi also made a nice defensive play in the game today and was a major factor in the Angles' sweep of the Royals.
