KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The drama was sucked out of Kauffman Stadium in the top of the fifth inning of Sunday's 13-2 loss to Boston. The energy had left the building and the buzz of a nearly sellout crowd had dissipated.
But in the ninth inning, Royals manager Ned Yost turned to bench coach Don Wakamatsu and told him it could have been worse. Wakamatsu asked how.
"We could be getting beat 12-0 and it be 100 degrees outside," Yost said.
Kansas City faced a seven-run deficit after just four trips to the plate. The normally reliable Chris Young surrendered seven runs while recording just 14 outs. Wade Miley worked the Royals' lineup, holding it scoreless in his six innings.
The Royals waved the white flag in the sixth, when the Boston lead inflated to 10 runs. Right-hander Aaron Brooks, called up Saturday from the minors, entered for mop-up duty. Outfielder Jarrod Dyson replaced Alex Gordon as a pinch hitter.
Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez already had the day off, and their spots on the bench remained secure. The sprinkling rain and lopsided score had whittled the audience to about half capacity at game's end.
Despite the loss, Kansas City still finished its five-game homestand with a winning record (3-2) and maintained a 3 1/2-game lead over Minnesota in the American League Central.
The Red Sox banged 16 hits. Thirteen went for extra bases. Five Boston hitters notched multi-hit games. Its offense scored a season-high 13 runs. Mookie Betts fell a single shy of the cycle and Xander Bogaerts roped a career-high three doubles.
"That's a very tough offensive lineup," Yost said. "You can't pitch around all of them."
Young was stung early by a pair of Boston home runs. First, Hanley Ramirez golfed out a fastball in the second inning. Then, David Ortiz popped a solo shot in the fourth inning. Young allowed doubles in the first and third innings, but escaped without damage. He could not avoid the debris in the fifth inning.
"Until then, the two solo homers, they don't beat you," Young said. "In the fifth, the wheels came off."
Young yielded a one-out walk to Sandy Leon before Mookie Betts smacked a wind-aided two-run homer to left field. Boston would stroke two more doubles and draw two more walks before Young was lifted.
His 4 2/3-inning start was his shortest of the season. It also came on the heels of 13 1/3 innings of scoreless ball. Young was in a groove, including a no-hit bid in Minnesota and an all-around stalwart performance in Milwaukee.
"Nobody's going to go out and nail it every time they go out there," Yost said.
Young said he lost his fastball command in the decisive fifth inning. The feel for the pitch had escaped him. As the walks piled up, Young hung on to his mantra of competing and executing. The Red Sox made that difficult.
"When you're facing the best hitters in the world," Young said, "it's not always that easy."
Boston added three runs off Jason Frasor in the sixth inning and another three off Brooks in his 3 1/3-inning appearance. Kansas City broke the shutout with Lorenzo Cain's two-out triple in the ninth inning.
"Just one of those days," Yost said.
You can follow Matthew DeFranks on Twitter at @MDeFranks or email him at matthew.defranks@gmail.com.
