CLEVELAND _ Early Saturday afternoon, Royals catcher Salvador Perez lounged in a leather chair in the corner of the visitors clubhouse, preparing to rest his sore side for another day. Lorenzo Cain laid on his back in the trainer's room, receiving treatment on his tender right quad. Mike Moustakas appeared in a hallway on the other side of the room, shuffling on an injured right knee.
It is the middle of September. Every team in baseball is managing aches and pains, some more serious than others. But for weeks, the Royals' clubhouse has had the feel of a mobile infirmary. Perez has been limited by an intercostal strain in his side. Cain has played through a sore quad. Moustakas has seen his power sapped by an undisclosed knee injury. The accounting does not include injuries to starting pitchers Danny Duffy and Ian Kennedy.
On Saturday, in an 8-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field, the dull pain surfaced yet again. Perez was out of the lineup for a second straight day. The Royals (73-75) lost for the fourth time in six games, limping toward the finish line in the season's final weeks.
The injuries offer little excuse for a club that has been deficient on offense, in relief and in the starting rotation. But for a team that dropped to 18-26 since the start of August, they are an integral part of the story.
Worn down and overmatched, the Royals dropped 4 { games behind the Minnesota Twins in the race for the second American League wild-card spot before the Twins played Toronto on Saturday night. As the Royals braced for a series finale here on Sunday, they had just 14 games remaining to make up ground.
In some ways, the standings are secondary. The playoffs remain a mathematical possibility but a statistical long shot. The latest loss offered another glimpse at a team's shortcomings.
One day after the Royals snapped the Indians' 22-game winning streak, starting pitcher Jason Hammel permitted seven runs (six earned) in six innings, including four in a messy sixth. The decisive sequence was marked by a two-run double by Francisco Lindor and a Little League home run surrendered to Indians center fielder Austin Jackson.
Moments after Lindor lashed a double off the wall in left, putting the Indians up 5-2, Jackson singled to center field. Cain sprinted in hard and threw home to cut down a scampering Lindor. But seeing no play, reserve catcher Drew Butera received the ball and immediately fired to second to get Jackson. The throw skipped past shortstop Alcides Escobar and bounced past Cain, who was out of position after making the throw home. Cain had to retreat into deep center field to fetch the ball. The errant throw allowed Jackson to circle the bases and stretch the Indians' lead to 7-2.
That Hammel was still in the game in the sixth was indicative of the Royals' depleted bullpen, which was down to Scott Alexander, Peter Moylan, Kevin McCarthy and newcomer Mike Morin.
Perez is expected to receive another day off Sunday before the final day off of the season on Monday. Cain may also receive a day off.
