Kansas City Royals tempted fate with this pitching stat in loss to the Guardians

There is an old baseball adage about walks. Things usually don’t end well when you start issuing them in a game.

Such thinking is very much in line with the Royals’ “Raid the Zone” strategy, which doesn’t make it much of a surprise how Wednesday’s game unfolded.

The Royals issued eight walks against the Cleveland Guardians. The end result: KC lost 8-3 at Progressive Field.

The Royals paid a hefty price for their mistakes. Guardians superstar Jose Ramirez hit two home runs in the victory. It was his 22nd multi-homer game of his career.

“Anytime you give away bases, that hurts,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. Generally it’s really hard to escape that kind of damage. They earned those walks, too. ... They are a challenging lineup.”

Ramirez finished 3 for 4 with three RBIs in the game. Guardians catcher David Fry hit a two-run homer and outfielder Steven Kwan added two RBIs.

Royals rookie Alec Marsh — who began July with two impressive starts — was chased from the game in the third inning. He pitched 2 2/3 innings and allowed four earned runs and four walks. The Royals bullpen matched him by allowing an additional four runs.

“It’s just tough all around,” Marsh said. “When you walk that many batters, the results are not going to be good. I thought my focus to attack using all my strengths wasn’t all the way there today. I didn’t think it was just a great day for me.”

Pitching was an issue for KC in the final two games of the series. (Also notable from the week, the Royals announced when they’ll have more information coming on a potential stadium move.)

On Wednesday, KC couldn’t overcome the deficit. The Royals squandered two bases-loaded situations and left 11 runners on base.

Royals outfielder MJ Melendez hit his eighth home run of the season. Meanwhile, Royals duo Maikel Garcia and Darion Blanco added RBI doubles.

“It’s kind of been the whole year,” Royals second baseman Michael Massey said. “Just frustrating with not scoring as many runs as we are capable of. It seems like we put ourselves in good positions quite often to do it. ... We’ve just got to keep getting good opportunities and we’ll cash them in.”

Guardians starter Gavin Williams didn’t allow a run in four innings of work. He struck out five batters in his outing.

The Royals fell to 29-75 and finished their road trip losing five of six games.

Missed previous games of the series?

Game 1: Ryan Yarbrough spins gem as Royals snap 5-game losing streak

Game 2: Bo Naylor homers twice, Royals fall 5-1 to Guardians

Here are more notables from Wednesday’s game:

Royals leave bases loaded in twice

The Royals had a good look at an early lead.

In the first inning, KC loaded the bases against Williams. Melendez hit a two-out single. Next, Royals captain Salvador Perez — who Quatraro said he expects to remain with the team through the trade deadline — singled, and second baseman Michael Massey drew a walk.

It was the ideal scenario for an early run. Royals catcher Freddy Fermin came to the plate with a chance to drive in a run. He saw six pitches against Williams before hitting a popup to end the inning.

“Freddy put a good at-bat together and we just didn’t capitalize there,” Quatraro said.

The Royals left all three base runners stranded. Williams avoided first-inning trouble and was rewarded by his offense. Ramirez hit a two-run homer as the Guardians took a lead they never relinquished.

In the sixth inning, the Royals had another bases-loaded opportunity. However, Royals center fielder Kyle Isbel popped out, via the infield fly rule, and Garcia lined out to end the threat.

“Maikel squared up the ball right to the first baseman,” Quatraro said. “We did a good job getting guys on base and we had some productive at-bats. We just didn’t capitalize when we needed to.”

The Royals were 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position. They also left 12 runners on base during the game.

Maikel Garcia records 14th double

The Royals got on the board in the fifth inning. Isbel led off the inning with a single and scored after Garcia hit an RBI double.

It was Garcia’s 14th double this season. He has hit safely in 24 of 34 games since June 17. In that span, Garcia has nine extra-base hits, eight walks and 17 RBIs.

Garcia, who hit his first home run earlier this season and has been a bright spot for an ailing Royals team, finished 1 for 5 in Wednesday’s game.

What’s next: KC begins a three-game series against the Minnesota Twins Friday night at Kauffman Stadium.