Kansas City Royals’ comeback bid falls short in series opener against the Oakland A’s

The Kansas City Royals have mastered the art of falling behind big, but never giving up.

It just hasn’t led to many wins.

Like clockwork, the Royals (8-25) made a valiant effort to rally after finding themselves down 9-2 in the fifth inning to the Oakland Athletics on Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals’ comeback fell short, however, as KC lost 12-8 to the A’s.

“We are having really good at-bats ... it’s just a tough game,” said KC’s Nick Pratto. “They were battling back and forth with us, having really good at-bats as well. It’s just baseball. It will all come around.”

Royals starting pitcher Brad Keller struggled from the first inning.

The righty lasted 4 1/3 innings, surrendering seven runs, including back-to-back home runs in the third inning. He struggled with his control — throwing 68 pitches, 41 for strikes, and walking four.

“The command was off and they ... made good contact on some sliders in the zone, but more than anything he was working hard,” said Royals manager Matt Quatraro. “It was not easy for him to command it. It was a lot of high intensity pitches.”

He gave up one run between the first two innings but completely fell apart in the next 2 1/3. He was yanked in the fifth inning, but still had two of the four earned runs charged to him.

Athletics starting pitcher Kyle Muller wasn’t much better and was rather fortunate for the run support he received. Muller exited after five innings, giving up five runs on eight hits. He threw 94 pitches, 58 for strikes, and walked three.

The Royals didn’t muster a hit until the third inning when Hunter Dozier, who has been struggling at the plate, hit a double. KC finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth when Pratto hit a two-run home run. The Royals tacked on another run in the fifth on a Vinnie Pasquantino sacrifice fly.

After loading the bases, the Royals added another two runs in the sixth — on a Jackie Bradley Jr. groundout and a Maikel Garcia sacrifice fly.

The Royals found themselves down four runs (9-5) in the bottom of the seventh but nearly tied up the game. Matt Duffy hit a sacrifice fly to score the first run. Then the next batter, Dozier, hit a triple, bringing in two runs, but the Athletics managed to hold KC to three runs in the inning.

The next inning, Royals relief pitcher Josh Taylor struggled with his command, walking three batters. By the time the inning ended, the Athletics had tacked on another two runs. Oakland tallied another run in the ninth, off a throwing error by Pratto.

The Royals totaled 10 hits and left 10 runners stranded

Pratto stays hot

Nick Pratto is certainly proving he belongs in the majors.

The outfielder went 2 for 4 at the plate and drew a walk. He helped jump-start the Royals offense with his home run in the fourth inning.

“It’s coming together,” Pratto said. “I’m just working really hard to keep some consistency and really just feeling good in the box and just maintaining some things”

Salvy shows off the arm

In the midst of a disastrous third inning, Keller needed to get outs any way he could.

Well, Royals catcher Salvador Perez did his part.

Perez gunned a throw to first base to pick off Oakland’s JJ Bleday, which was the first out of the inning.

Up next: The Royals continue their three-game series against the Athletics at 6:10 p.m. on Saturday. Former Royals star Lorenzo Cain will sign a one-day contract to retire with the Royals on Saturday, with ceremonies starting at 5:45 p.m.

Brady Singer is scheduled to start on the mound for the Royals against Oakland’s Ken Waldichuk.