KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ The Royals' June swoon continued Saturday as they lost to the Astros, 10-2, at Kauffman Stadium.
Royals starter Danny Duffy, who'd begun to rebound from the 6.88 ERA he amassed in his first 10 starts this season, took his first loss since May 19. He hadn't allowed more than five runs in a game since the Indians shelled him for nine runs on May 13. On Saturday, he allowed seven runs (six earned) on six hits in six innings.
Despite falling behind 2-0 in the first inning when Jose Altuve rocketed a two-run double into the left-field wall, Duffy settled. He retired 11 of the next 12 batters and racked up all five of his strikeouts Saturday along the way.
But an error by Mike Moustakas in the fifth inning allowed the Astros to tack on the final run of a two-run frame and jump ahead 4-0.
The Royals took two of those runs back in the bottom of the inning, but Duffy couldn't keep the game within reach.
His chance to build on last week's performance _ he held the Athletics scoreless through seven innings while striking out 10 _ evaporated in the sixth inning. He walked Yuli Gurriel on five pitches to start the inning, allowed a one-out single to Marwin Gonzalez and was forced to pay on a high-and-away changeup, a pitch the Astros' Max Stassi launched for a three-run homer and a 7-2 Astros lead.
The Astros' five-run advantage was too steep for the Royals to overcome.
No team has stopped the Astros in 10 games. They haven't lost since June 5, when starter Dallas Keuchel allowed the Mariners to score seven runs.
Keuchel, the 2015 American League Cy Young award winner, hadn't even delivered a sharp performance during the Astros' 10-game winning streak yet. He'd posted a 9.82 ERA in two June starts.
But he met little resistance in Kansas City on Saturday. He allowed six hits, issued one walk and struck out five in six innings.
The two runs the Royals scored against him were unearned. They capitalized on Carlos Correa's inability to corral a groundball hit by Drew Butera in the bottom of the frame, reaching base in four straight at-bats and getting RBI hits from Whit Merrifield and Moustakas.
The Royals have lost 12 of 14 games this month, including 11 of the last 12.
