Why KC Royals’ bats went silent in Sunday’s series finale vs. Baltimore Orioles

The Kansas City Royals received a real test from the Baltimore Orioles this weekend at Kauffman Stadium.

The Orioles flexed their well-balanced attack throughout the three-game series, and the Royals proved up to the challenge ... until Sunday.

KC won Friday’s game and nearly pulled off a series victory Saturday night, but their guests from the American League East delivered the final blow with a 5-0 victory in the series’ afternoon finale.

“We’d like to get to a point where we are testing other teams, too, and it’s not a litmus test for us,” Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino said. “But right now, I get it. It definitely is.

“We’ve got to do a better job against the top half of the league.”

The Orioles (14-7) recorded nine hits against Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo, including back-to-back home runs — the first allowed by Lugo this season — in the third inning.

It was Lugo’s first loss of the year. He pitched 5 1/3 innings and didn’t have his best command.

“I feel like I made two or three mistakes, a couple physical and one mental, but I felt like I made some good pitches,” Lugo said. “Hope for better results next time.”

Meanwhile, the Royals were shut out by Orioles starter Cole Irvin. He allowed four hits over 6 2/3 innings for this first win of the season.

KC shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. finished 1-for-4 and Pasquantino extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

“He (Irvin) did a good job running that sinker across the plate and using different pitches to set it up,” Pasquantino said. “He did a really nice job today and kept us off-balance. You know, tip your hat to him.”

The Royals fell to 13-9 and will begin a four-game home series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.

Missed previous games of the series?

Game 1: Michael Massey returns as Royals cruise to 9-4 victory against Orioles

Game 2: Royals fall behind early in 9-7 loss to Orioles

Here are more notable aspects of Sunday’s game:

Seth Lugo falters in 5th start

The Orioles tagged Lugo with hard contact all afternoon. In the third inning, he allowed back-to-back home runs to Colton Cowser and Jordan Westburg.

The fifth homer for each player, the two solo shots gave Baltimore took a 2-0 lead traveling 430 and 433 feet, respectively. Per Baseball Savant, Cowser’s home run registered a 111.5 mph exit velocity off the bat.

“He got hurt with the two homers there,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “Those pitches leaked back over the middle of the plate and those guys did damage.”

Lugo threw 60 of 99 pitches for strikes. However, he generated just nine whiffs during his outing. The Orioles did damage on his four-seam fastball and sinker — Westburg, for instance, homered on a 92.4 sinker left over the middle.

Angel Zerpa relieved Lugo in the sixth inning. Lugo, who entered with a 1.05 ERA, failed to record a quality start for the first time this season.

“(I’m) disappointed not being able to finish that inning,” Lugo said. “That was my goal for today. Especially after yesterday, it was to finish the sixth.”

Royals squander late scoring chance

The Royals had their opportunities to mount a comeback.

In the eighth inning, Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia worked a leadoff walk and then advanced to third base when Pasquantino singled off Orioles reliever Danny Coulombe.

That set the stage for Royals captain Salvador Perez at the plate.

Perez, who entered Sunday’s game hitting .342 this year, had a chance to pull the Royals within one run. He saw six pitches against Coulombe but was called out on strikes as the second out of the inning.

Outfielder Nelson Velazquez was summoned to pinch-hit, but he, too, struck out, ending the Royals’ threat. Instead of KC possibly scoring, the Orioles added an insurance run in the ninth inning.

“We had a couple of chances there where we just didn’t capitalize,” Quatraro said. “But, overall, when a team shuts you out, you’ve got to tip your cap.

“We couldn’t execute (today). But the rest of the games were really competitive.”

What’s next on the KC Royals’ schedule?

The Royals begin a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night.

Pitcher Brady Singer will start against Blue Jays southpaw Yusei Kikuchi at Kauffman Stadium. Singer owns a 2-0 record and 1.54 ERA through four starts this season.

This will be the first meeting between the teams this year. The Blue Jays have won six of their last seven against the Royals.