CHICAGO
With their offense slumbering through the afternoon, the Royals suffered a walk-off 2-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs in 11 innings on Sunday. Cubs backup catcher David Ross flared a bloop single with the bases loaded, and Kansas City shortstop Alcides Escobar could not make a sliding, over-the-head basket catch. Ryan Madson had issued a pair of walks to start the inning, and received credit for the defeat.
The blame belongs to the offense. The lineup managed only four hits all afternoon. They went hitless from the seventh to the 11th, failing to batter any of Chicago’s relievers.