KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ Apportioning blame in the game of baseball can be a messy affair. There are too many moving parts, too many little moments, too many hypotheticals that make the whole exercise a fool's errand.
But sometimes the windows line up just right, sometimes the numbers appear, and you're left with an undeniable question. For instance: Where would the Royals be this season without the pitching of reliever Joakim Soria?
It is, not doubt, an unfair query on some levels, but it was impossible to ignore after a 5-4 loss to the Oakland A's on Tuesday night, a defeat in which Soria contributed to another bullpen collapse.
In the top of the eighth inning at Kauffman Stadium, with the Royals guarding a one-run lead, and two men on base, manager Ned Yost emerged from the dugout and called upon Soria to replace left-handed rookie Matt Strahm.
In that moment, Strahm had faced two batters and retired one after relieving starter Danny Duffy. Yost had seen enough, and on came Soria. Moments later, A's manager Bob Melvin inserted left-hander Yonder Alonso into the game for leadoff man Jake Smolinsky, and Alonso greeted Soria with a two-run double to center field.
As boos rained down on the Kauffman Stadium field, Soria finished the act of blowing his seventh save of the season. Three of those blown saves have come during the month of September. The latest loss put the Royals' playoff hopes on life support.
The latest bullpen letdown ruined a solid performance from Duffy, who allowed three earned runs in 7 1/3 innings. It also put the spotlight on Yost, who was just an inning away from notching the 1,000th victory of his career.
The Royals dropped to 74-70 while losing their second straight against the Oakland A's. They fell to 7-18 against the AL West. They wasted a golden opportunity for a bounce-back win.
In the fourth inning, the Royals struck like they often do, taking advantage of the other team's mistake. When A's shortstop Marcus Semien booted a routine grounder with two outs, Alcides Escobar reached first base and Cheslor Cuthbert cruised into third. Moments later, Paulo Orlando ripped a 2-0 fastball into left field, scoring two runs.
The A's would trim the lead to 2-1 in the fifth inning. The Royals stretched it back to 3-1 in the sixth. A storm arrived just before 8 p.m., hitting Kauffman Stadium with a steady deluge. The storm never reached a downpour and the game pressed on.
This is when things began to go haywire. With the availability of Kelvin Herrera and closer Wade Davis in question, Yost turned to Strahm with one out in the eighth. Strahm recorded one out before an infield single extended the inning. That's when Yost turned to Soria, who entered the night with eight losses and a 4.06 ERA.
