Royals' offense heats up late, but rally falls short in 7-4 loss to Rangers
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- With the Kansas City Royals' starting pitching already thin, there was a scary moment in the fifth inning when right-hander Yordano Ventura was struck by a laser by Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers.
After Ventura threw to first base, he collapsed to the ground in pain and was attended to by trainer Nick Kenney. Beltre's shot, with a velocity of 108 mph, hit Ventura in the right rib cage area.
X-rays were negative, but Ventura did not come out for the sixth. Ventura (6-8) gave up three runs on three hits and four walks while striking out five in a 7-4 loss to the Rangers on Saturday night.
"I got hit in the rib, obviously, and just lost my breath," Ventura said through an interpreter. "I was trying to just regain my breath. It hurt at first but I recuperated pretty good."
He said he does not anticipate missing a start.
Cole Hamels (11-2) allowed one unearned run in 5 1/3 innings and Nomar Mazara and Beltre both homered for the Rangers.
Hamels, who is 6-1 with a 2.24 ERA in his past nine starts, limited the Royals to five hits, struck out four and walked three. He lowered his ERA to 2.87, which is tied for third in the American League.
The Rangers picked up only their fifth victory in 20 games. Hamels has started three of those victories.
Mazara homered in the fourth with Jurickson Profar -- who had walked -- aboard, which was the first hit off Royals starter Yordano Ventura.
"I thought I was working him fine and then the pitch stayed up in the zone and he put a good swing on it," Ventura said.
Mazara, who tops all American League rookies with 25 games with multiple hits and 141 total bases, doubled to center in the fifth, scoring Delino DeShields.
Beltre, a career .363 hitter at Kauffman Stadium, hit a three-run homer in the Rangers' four-run seventh off Joakim Soria. Ian Desmond singled in the first run of the inning.
"The first three innings were dynamite," Royals manager Ned Yost said of Ventura. "He just waltzed right through them with 40 pitches, and then 33 in that fourth inning and just started struggling. But, all in all, the only player that hurt him was Mazara. The only damage that was really done was the two-run home run, changeup out and over the plate and the RBI double, I think it was. At that point the thought process was to send him back out in the sixth, but the ball Beltre hit off his rib changed that."
Soria has allowed six runs in his past two outings and has a 9.72 ERA in his past nine relief appearances.
"The result wasn't what we expected, but I didn't feel that I pitched bad," Soria said. "Beltre hit a pitch on the inside part of the plate and we were trying to get him there. And it was in there and he hit the ball hard."
Cheslor Cuthbert doubled with one out in the first, extending his hitting streak to a career-best 12 games and took third on Mazara's fielding error. Cuthbert scored on Eric Hosmer's groundout for the only run off Hamels.
The Royals scored three runs in the ninth on four singles and a bases-loaded walk before Salvador Perez grounded into a double play to end the game.
"It's a big deficit heading into the last inning," said Hosmer, who drove in a run in the ninth with an infield single. "We did a good job of getting to Hamels a little bit, getting him in some situations and getting him out of there early, but it kind of got away from us before we can fire back at their bullpen."
RANGERS ADD DUFFY
The Rangers claimed 1B Matt Duffy off waivers from the Astros and assigned him to their Triple-A Round Rock club. Duffy, 27, hit .294 with 20 home runs, 29 doubles and 104 RBIs last season with Fresno in the Pacific Coast League. He was hitless in three at-bats this season with Houston.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Rangers: LHP Derek Holland, who is on the 60-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation, threw his first bullpen session, 25 pitches, since going on the DL. If he has no setbacks, Holland could begin a minor league rehab assignment in early August.
Royals: LHP Mike Minor, who had labrum surgery in 2015, threw a simulated game but has yet to pitch in a big league game this season.
UP NEXT
Rangers: RHP A.J. Griffin will be working on five days' rest Sunday after a no-decision Monday at the Angels.
Royals: RHP Edinson Volquez is 0-2 with an 8.22 ERA in three career starts against the Rangers, his first club.
