Stymied again by right-hander Frankie Montas — the same Oakland starting pitcher who a week ago was the beneficiary of a 16-run outpouring at Kauffman Stadium — the Royals lost to the A’s 7-2 at Oakland Coliseum on Friday.
Mike Moustakas in the eighth inning shattered Montas' illusions of throwing a second-straight scoreless outing. Served a 94 mph fastball belt-high, Moustakas stroked the seventh pitch of his eighth at-bat against Montas — Moustakas went 0 for 4 against the 25-year-old last week — just over the right-field wall for a two-run homer.
Montas, who allowed six hits in 7 2/3 innings, immediately departed the game.