By MATT PIKE
The Kansas City Royals dropped a third game in a row, falling to the Tampa Bay Rays who won the season series with the Royals, and swept the series at Kauffman Stadium with a 5-2 win.
For a second time in the series, Royals catcher Carter Jensen led off the scoring in the first inning with a solo home run, putting Kansas City up 1-0. Jensen gave the Royals a 1-0 lead in Tuesday's series opener on the first pitch of the game with a solo home run as well, his hit in the finale coming one day after he went 0-for-4 against the Rays.
In the second inning, an RBI double by Taylor Walls drove in Chandler Simpson to tie up the game, after Simpson singled with one out in the inning. Richie Palacios broke the tie with an RBI single, bringing home Walls, and scored himself in the very next at bat on Hunter Feduccia's RBI triple as the Rays took a 3-1 lead.
Cedric Mullins hit his 10th home run of the season in the fifth inning, a two run home run scoring Simpson, to extend the lead. A solo home run from Isaac Collins in the seventh inning capped the scoring for the Royals and the game. Lawrence, Kansas native Garrett Cleavinger retired three of the four batters he faced in the bottom of the eighth for the Rays before Bryan Baker retired Kansas City 1-2-3 in the ninth for his 22nd save of the season.
Stephen Kolek took the loss, falling to 4-3 on the season, giving up three runs on four hits while walking one batter in just two innings pitched. At the plate, Jensen was 2-for-4 with a home run and an RBI. Collins was 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI. Lane Thomas was 1-for-4 with a double.
Kansas City will have on off day on Friday, with a FIFA World Cup game scheduled at Arrowhead Stadium between Colombia and Ghana at 8:30pm. The Royals will host the Philadelphia Phillies starting Saturday. June's Royals pitcher of the month Michael Wacha (5-5, 3.31 ERA, 84K's) is set to take the mound against Jesús Luzardo (6-4, 3.88 ERA, 116K's) for the Phillies. First pitch will be at 7:10pm on Saturday, pregame will air at 6:30 on KFEQ (680AM/95.3FM).