ARLINGTON, Texas _ By the time the rain clouds rolled in for the last third of Saturday's game, it already seemed like the metaphorical clouds had been hanging over the Royals throughout this series in Texas.
Even in their series-opening win, the Royals temporarily lost third baseman Hunter Dozier to injury. Friday night their most consistent pitcher went from lights-out to out of the game in less than an inning.
Saturday brought a short outing from starting pitcher Homer Bailey in a loss, and starting catcher Martin Maldonado came out of the game for "precautionary" reasons due to forearm tightness.
The Royals can still squeeze out a series split with a win in the series finale on Sunday, but Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Rangers in front of an announced 27,133 at Globe Life Park certainly wasn't the fresh start the Royals could've used to start June after a 10-18 record in May.
Bailey (4-6) has pitched well enough at times to look like a vital veteran presence in the rotation. At other times, he's struggled enough to question if the Royals wouldn't be better off with a youngster getting those starts. Then again, the young starters who are viewed as close to major league ready have battled their inconsistencies as well in the big leagues.
For each of the four times he's been chased from a start in less than five innings _ not including the rain-shortened start last Monday in Chicago _ Bailey has had another start of six or seven solid innings.
Bailey appeared as if headed toward a quality start in Chicago on Monday before heavy rain forced multiple delays followed by the eventual suspension of that game with him on the mound in the fifth inning. He'd walked just one and allowed three hits, and he'd also struck out five.
On Saturday, Bailey had an up and down start, but he'd held the Rangers scoreless. Then Rangers slugger Joey Gallo struck again with a swift and violent swing on the first pitch of his second at-bat of the day.
Gallo's smash went high and far to right-center for his 17th home run of the season. It gave the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth. Gallo left the game later with left oblique tightness.
Gallo's sixth-inning grand slam off starting pitcher Danny Duffy on Friday night provided the margin of victory in the Rangers' 6-2 win.
Saturday, Gallo had just one passenger along for the ride after Hunter Pence started the inning with hit a single. Bailey allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base in three of four innings, including two walks.
After Gallo's home run, Bailey gave up a single and a one-out double by Ronald Guzman that put runners on second and third. Jeff Mathis' sacrifice fly and Shin-Soo Choo's RBI double pushed the total to four runs in the inning before Bailey gave way for reliever Wily Peralta.
The Royals first run came in the fifth after Jorge Soler got hit by a pitch, Cheslor Cuthbert hit a one-out single and Maldonado roped a double that one-hopped to the wall in left field to drive in Soler. But the Royals stranded two runners in scoring position at the end of the inning.
The Rangers added to their lead in the sixth inning after Royals second baseman Nicky Lopez misplayed a potential double-play ball that could've ended the inning. Instead, the ball got past Lopez and into the outfield grass to put runners on the corners with one out. The next batter, Elvis Andrus hit a sacrifice fly that gave the Rangers a 5-1 lead.
Maldonado came out of the game in the sixth inning with forearm tightness. His replacement, backup catcher Cam Gallagher, hit an RBI double in the seventh for the Royals' second run of the game.
The Rangers tacked on another insurance run in the eighth on an RBI single from Nomar Mazara.
