KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ After all the offense on display Monday night _ hits, homers, bunts, bloops, aggressive base running plays and, most of all, scoring _ the Royals and Oakland Athletics combined for three runs on Tuesday night.
However, the Royals still ended up on the wrong end. The Royals fell, 2-1, to the Athletics in the second game of their four-game set in front of an announced 13,669 at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals had nine hits and left seven men on base in the loss.
The Royals have lost six of seven games, including a 19-4 rout in the series opener on Monday night.
Whit Merrifield and Alex Gordon had two hits apiece for the Royals (46-87).
Athletics starting pitcher Mike Fiers brought a 10-0 record and a 2.44 ERA in his previous 19 starts with him into Tuesday's game. That stretch started with Fiers' second no-hitter of his career against Cincinnati on May 7.
Fiers held the Royals to one run in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out five, scattered eight hits and walked two. He left the game with the Athletics clinging to a 2-1 advantage.
Royals starter Montgomery (3-7) gave up five runs on eight hits (three home runs) and three walks in his previous outing against the Orioles in Baltimore last week. He'd given up just one unearned run in his previous two starts (13 innings) and struck out 15 in that same span.
Tuesday night, Montgomery allowed two runs (one earned) in 6 1/3 innings. He registered more strikeouts (six) than he allowed hits (five).
Royals right-hander Jakob Junis (8-12, 4.89) will start Wednesday's third game of the four-game series, while the Athletics will send right-hander Tanner Roark (2-1, 2.63) to the mound.
