KANSAS CITY -- A players-only meeting intended to relieve the pressure that comes with a losing streak and poor play was well-received Saturday evening, and, in the eyes of many, absolutely the right time to have the team talk about its issues.
But the Royals knew action needed to follow.
They’re still searching for it.
Sunday’s 3-2 loss to the A’s wrapped up a winless homestand for Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium. Losses are stacking in heaps now, with the Royals having lost six in a row, eight of their past nine and 22 of their past 32.
“It wasn’t good,” shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. said. “It was bad. You got to flush it and have an off-day tomorrow, and that’s all you can do right now. Can’t change what happened in those games. But also, you can just learn from it. And we got to learn from it.
“Because we just got beat by teams that we could beat. Can’t have that happen.”
Witt is talking about the Yankees, who just suffered their first sweep of the season to the Red Sox this weekend, but who are 42-28 and overpowered the Royals earlier this week, and the A’s, who are ripe with young talent but are 29-44 this year.
“The best team doesn’t always win,” Witt said. “It’s the team that plays the best. How can we be the best team on the field each and every night? How can we focus? And how can we be ready?”
All questions the Royals are trying to answer. Buoyed Sunday by their meeting the previous night and playing “more together as a team,” as starter Noah Cameron put it, Kansas City jumped out to an early lead against the A’s when Witt doubled in the third. That snapped an 0-for-16 slump for Witt. Vinnie Pasquantino followed with an RBI single to give the Royals a two-run lead.
It seemed like things were looking up, and they were getting a great start from the rookie Cameron, who tossed five strong scoreless innings. Cameron made history on Sunday, becoming the first pitcher in Major League history to record at least five innings and allow one run or fewer in six of his first seven career appearances.
But with the lefty starter at 83 pitches and the middle of the A’s order -- all right-handed batters -- due up, manager Matt Quatraro turned to reliever John Schreiber in the sixth.
The lead was gone in three batters. Austin Wynns didn’t miss Schreiber’s middle-middle sinker for a game-tying, two-run home run.
Not all pitch counts are created equal, and Quatraro felt that Cameron had labored through his 83 pitches. Plus, the Royals preferred the right-on-right matchups with Schreiber and were confident in their very well-rested back-end of the bullpen.
That included Angel Zerpa for an inning, Lucas Erceg for 1 1/3 frames and Carlos Estévez for the ninth with the game tied.
But the Royals’ closer gave up the game-winning homer to A’s rookie Nick Kurtz on a middle-middle fastball.
Kansas City had no answer. The offense managed only singles after the third inning Sunday. Unlike the third inning, when Kyle Isbel led off with a double, moved to third on Maikel Garcia’s sacrifice bunt and scored on Witt’s double, there was no movement and no energy offensively late in the game.
“I don’t know if it’s really guys putting too much pressure on themselves or feel like they have to get the job done, but my mentality personally is, ‘How can I get on as many times for the guys atop the lineup?’” Isbel said. “It doesn’t matter if I get on by error, by walk, get a hit. How many opportunities can I give them?
“That mentality is what our team is built around, and we need to get back to our game.”
It’s not as if the Royals aren’t incapable of improvement. They’re four games under .500 (34-38) but have over half of their season yet to play. Last year, two AL teams made the postseason despite having a sub-.500 record through 72 games -- the Tigers (34-38) and Astros (33-39).
But if Kansas City is to see a turnaround like those teams, some change must happen. If not, the Royals are in danger of having to look toward the future rather than building on their 2024 postseason appearance.
“It’s going to be a tough week for anyone who loses a lot like that,” Estévez said. “But that doesn’t dictate the full season. It’s 162 [games], not a week. We’ve got to flip the page and keep going.”