The momentum the Royals built in St. Louis and carried into a series-opening win here on Thursday evaporated with one swing of Nomar Mazara’s bat on Friday night.
His two-run shot that bounced off the Globe Life Park fence in left field and into the crowd gave the Rangers a three-run advantage the Royals could only chip at in an 8-4 loss.
Royals rookie starter Eric Skoglund labored through 4 1/3 innings, yielding seven hits and six earned runs. He found himself on the wrong end of an error in the first inning and was hurt by Mazara’s speed in the third — but three home runs did the left-handed pitcher in.