Royals bullpen implodes with nine-run inning, comeback falls short in 11-8 loss to Padres

The leaky bullpen hit an iceberg tonight.

The Royals bullpen, which has had issues all month, had a meltdown of epic proportions, giving up 11 hits and 9 runs in a seemingly endless eighth inning that turned a one-run Royals lead into a big Padres lead. The Royals offense staged a furious ninth-inning comeback, but fell just short in an 11-8 loss to the Padres.

Both starting pitchers cruised through the first five innings, tossing goose eggs. Michael Wacha allowed just three hits in the first five frames without any walks. Padres starter Dylan Cease used an effective fastball to work around a leadoff double by Salvador Perez in the second. Hunter Renfroe’s leadoff double in the third was for naught when he was doubled off second on a line drive by Maikel Garcia.

The Padres finally got on the board in the sixth on an RBI double by Fernando Tatis Jr., and Jurickson Profar plated another run with an RBI single to make it 2-0. The Padres threatened to score more when Jake Cronenworth hit a shallow fly to left, but Bobby Witt Jr. made a difficult catch, then threw home to nab Tatis, who was attempting to score on the flyout.

Bobby Witt Jr. would not only help with his glove, but with the bat, driving in the first Royals run in the bottom of the inning with a one-out single to plate Kyle Isbel. Vinnie Pasquantino sliced one into left that bounced and hopped into the stands for a ground-rule double, scoring Maikel Garcia and tying the game. The Padres intentionally walked Salvador Perez to load the bases before Nelson Velázquez hit a long flyout off reliever Jeremiah Estrada to score Witt, giving the Royals a 3-2 lead.

The eighth inning was the inning from hell. John Schreiber began the inning and it didn’t go well from the start. He gave up back-to-back singles, then misplayed a bunt Jurickson Profar into another single to load the bases. James McArthur was brought on, but could not stop the bleeding, giving up singles to all four hitters he faced. Will Klein gave up four more hits, but was at least able to record all three outs. When the dust settled, the Padres had put up nine runs in the inning on eleven hits - ten of them singles. Arraez had two hits in the inning - part of a four-hit night. Nick Loftin tossed a scoreless ninth inning to lower the Royals’ bullpen ERA for the month of May to 5.55.

Despite facing an eight-run deficit, the Royals made things very interesting in the ninth. Facing Rule 5 pick Stephen Kolek, Velázquez homered to begin the inning. The Royals started their own hit parade, with Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. each hitting RBI singles. The Padres were forced to bring in closer Robert Suarez for a save situation. Freddy Fermin - who came into the game as a defensive replacement when Salvy was pulled during the blowout - singled home two more runs. With two on, Velázquez came about five feet away from the tying the game, launching a long fly ball to the warning track for the final out of the game.

The Royals have lost five out of six, but they showed some fight and tomorrow is a new day and a chance to even the series. Alec Marsh takes on Joe Musgrove at 3:10 CT.