In the previous three games, the Kansas City Royals struck out like it was their mission. Worse, they were unable to accrue many walks—they combined for 42 strikeouts and seven walks. Tonight, the Royals continued their flaccid plate appearances, adding eight strikeouts and walking exactly zero times. Overall, that makes for 50 strikeouts and seven walks over their last four games. That will generally lead to offensive struggles and losses and, lo, both have occurred.
Tonight, despite some power from a collection of younger players, the Royals parlayed poor plate discipline into a 6-3 loss against the Tampa Bay Rays.