A lowlight of difficult season, Royals give up double ... on a bunt in loss to Twins

One play on Friday night perfectly encapsulated the kind of season the Kansas City Royals are having.

Minnesota Twins center fielder Michael A. Taylor, a former Royal, attempted a safety-squeeze bunt against Royals starting pitcher Jordan Lyles in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Not only did Taylor successfully bring the runner on third base (Joey Gallo) safely to home plate, Taylor turned a bunt in front of the catcher into a single, and then a double.

How? Kansas City lost track of Taylor. The Royals didn’t cover the bag at first ... or second.

“I did a bad job on that because I usually come in (in) case he pushes it hard, then try to get to first,” Massey said. “I kind of got caught for a second, so I should have been at first base. Once I got there, I should have realized I have to get back to second as well. That’s just a blunder that I can learn from.”

In a season filled with frustrating losses, the Royals added another with an 8-6 loss to the Twins on Friday at Target Field.

The Royals had a chance to rally in the ninth inning with the bases loaded for Nick Pratto. Instead, he struck out to end the game.

Royals manager Matt Quatraro spoke pregame about managing the frustration of KC’s early season struggles. That quote remained relevant following the loss.

“What’s the alternative?” said Quatraro. “You come in today and it’s a new day. You have to have a little bit of a level of insanity, I guess, to come back and be in a good mood and take it as it comes.”

Despite it being a new day, the Royals’ starting pitching left much to be desired for the second straight outing. Lyles lasted four innings, surrendering seven runs, including two home runs. The righty struggled with his command — throwing 94 pitches, 54 for strikes, and walking four batters.

He gave up three runs between the first two innings and then fell apart in the fourth inning, allowing four runs.

“It’s just a tough outing,” Lyles said. “Not my best stuff. Just tough overall.”

After scoring a combined five runs in the last three games, the Royals put together a solid outing on the offensive end against Minnesota starting pitcher Pablo López.

Lopez exited after six innings, giving up six runs and eight hits.

Catcher Salvador Perez got the Royals on the board early with a sacrifice fly in the first inning. He would add two RBIs — a solo homer in the 6th inning and a single in the 7th inning. Pratto batted in two runs and Bobby Witt Jr. added another. The Royals totaled 12 hits and left 9 runners stranded.

With the loss, KC fell to 6-21 on the year.

Missed the start of the series?

Game 1: What went wrong for KC Royals starter Zack Greinke in loss to Twins

Perez has himself a day at the plate

Royals catcher Perez certainly did his part in trying to put runs on the board for the Royals.

He went 3 for 4 at the plate with three RBIs, including a solo home run. He was one of three Royals (Edward Olivares 3-for-4; Pratto 3-for-5) with multiple hits.

Witt shows off his range

In the fifth inning, Witt pulled off an impressive “web gem” to record an out at first.

Twins shortstop Carlos Correa hit a ball on the verge of getting out of the infield, but Witt covered a great deal of ground, spun and delivered on a difficult throw to beat the speedy Correa to first.

Friday’s start delayed by rain

The game was set for a 3:10 p.m. Central start but was delayed for around two hours due to steady rain. The first pitch was officially thrown a little after 5:05 p.m.

Up next: The Royals continue a four-game series against the Twins at 1:10 p.m. Central on Saturday. Brad Keller will face Minnesota’s Bailey Ober.