A baseball floated out toward shallow left field on Thursday night, and in a moment, everything the Royals once relied on, everything they once trusted, would start to crumble.
The once all-world defense would lapse. The bullpen could not protect a one-run lead. The result was a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium that felt like a season-defining moment.
In the decisive stretch, closer Kelvin Herrera was nicked for three runs while blowing his fourth save of the season. The decisive mistake came on a miscommunication between left fielder Alex Gordon and shortstop Alcides Escobar.