Royals relievers Jason Adam and Jason Hammel gave up a home run each in the eighth inning of Thursday’s series finale at Guaranteed Rate Field, preventing the Royals from a series sweep as they lost 6-4.
Yet there were positive signs, including the continued defensive magic provided by newcomer Brett Phillips in the outfield, to be parsed out of this defeat.
- Royals infielder/outfielder Whit Merrifield entered as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning and clubbed his sixth homer of the season to left-center field, giving the Royals a 3-2 lead and taking rookie starting pitcher Brad Keller off the hook for a loss.