, who was pulled with two outs in the second after he allowed eight runs on seven hits in two walks in another ugly post-Tommy John performance.Danny Duffy (2-1) was only marginally better for Kansas City, using 107 pitches just to survive five innings. He allowed four runs, seven hits and a walk while striking out seven.''You make a couple of bad pitches and all of a sudden they get four runs,'' Duffy said. ''When my team gives me nine runs, it's a travesty to not go as long as I can.'' Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus left with tightness in his right hamstring after grounding out to end the seventh inning. He will be evaluated again Wednesday in another blow to a team that has lost five straight to fall a season-worst five games below .500.''We'll obviously evaluate him tomorrow,'' Rangers manager Chris Woodward said, ''but he seems pretty optimistic. He hasn't had a hamstring problem before. We'll see when he wakes up tomorrow how he feels.'' The Royals pounced on Miller right from the start, sending seven to the plate in the first inning and jumping out to a 3-0 lead. But they cracked the game open in the second, when they sent 11 batters to the plate and drove in six runs against Miller and Rangers reliever Wei-Chieh Huang.The stunning offensive outburst came after Kansas City managed six singles and no extra-base hits in a loss to the Phillies on Sunday. And it came after the arrival of Lopez, who got the start at second base and hit second behind Whit Merrifield in the lineup.Lopez walked in the third before his first career hit made it a memorable night.''Nicky had some great at-bats,'' Royals manager Ned Yost said. ''I was glad to see Nicky get his first hit. That's under his belt and now he can move forward.'' Joey Gallo had a pair of RBIs for the Rangers, who tried to climb back into the game with a four-run third. But they stranded runners in four consecutive innings, repeatedly failing to get the crucial hit they needed to avoid a 1-6 start to their nine-game, 10-day road trip.''They put some runs together. They put some big innings together,'' said Miller, whose ERA ballooned to 9.51 this season. ''It's disappointing. I feel like I let my team down big-time.'' NICKY'S NUMBERThe Royals originally made up No. 19 jerseys for Lopez, but he asked to wear No. 1 because it was the number his father wore in softball. New jerseys were made and arrived before first pitch.ROSTER MOVESThe Royals made roster space for Lopez by sending right-hander Jake Newberry to Triple-A Omaha and designating first baseman Frank Schwindel for assignment. The Royals are hopeful Schwindel clears waivers and they can keep him in their organization.TRAINER'S ROOMRangers left-hander Cole Ragans, their first-round pick in the 2016 draft, will need a second Tommy John surgery after tearing his ulnar collateral ligament. The 21-year-old Ragans was close to pitching in a game for the first time since his last surgery when he began feeling discomfort about a week ago.''It's obviously concerning,'' said Rangers general manager Jon Daniels, adding that surgery will be Wednesday. ''This is the first Tommy John surgery we've had that's failed.'' UP NEXTThe Royals hope Jorge Lopez (0-4, 6.07 ERA) can get on track Wednesday night after a blowout loss to the Astros. He goes against former Royals pitcher Mike Minor, who is 3-3 with a 2.68 ERA for Texas.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Rangers hope upward climb begins vs. Royals The optimist will look at the Texas Rangers as a game out of second place in the American League West. The pessimist will look at the Rangers as being tied for last place in the American League West. They'd both be right.The Rangers come into a three-game series beginning Tuesday against the Kansas City Royals with a 17-21 record, tied with the Oakland Athletics for last place, but just a game behind the second-place Los Angeles Angels. The Rangers are 7 1/2 games behind the Houston Astros, the only club in the division with a record above .500.The Rangers just got swept in a four-game series by the Astros at Houston, which outscored Texas 33-11. The final two games were 11-4 and 15-5 losses. That ran the Rangers' road record to 5-14 this season."I pulled the team aside and said I was proud of their effort," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said following Sunday's loss. "They fought to the end. Obviously, we didn't execute some pitches today and they hit the ball hard. That's something we have to learn from. We have to figure out how to minimize our mistakes." The Royals don't share last place with anyone in the AL Central. At 14-27, they have the worst record in the American League. But things don't look as bleak as that. Since a 10-game losing streak in early April, the Royals are just five games below .500 (12-17).The offense is humming, at least the first four in the batting order. Whit Merrifield, Adalberto Mondesi, Alex Gordon and Hunter Dozier are hitting a combined .291. Dozier is eighth in the AL in batting (.318). Mondesi (33) is fourth and Gordon (31) is sixth in RBIs. Merrifield and Mondesi are tied for the league lead with six triples. The Royals lead the majors with 21 triples and 40 stolen bases.They're also very good on defense, especially Mondesi, an infielder. The Royals' .991 fielding percentage is the best in baseball."Unbelievably good," Royals manager Ned Yost said of Mondesi, who had a rare but costly error in Sunday's 6-1 loss to the Phillies. "Lights out. Pop-your-eyes-out good. Makes plays like the other night when he's almost to third base and then throws back and gets a guy out. He's been really good." The Royals will send Danny Duffy to the mound for the series opener. Duffy is 1-1 with a 3.06 ERA in three starts after starting the season on the injured list. He earned his first victory since last August against the Astros in his last start. He gave up two runs on six hits in 6 2/3 innings. The offense backed him with 12 runs after scoring two runs combined in his first two starts.Duffy is 2-2 with a 2.89 ERA in seven career starts against Texas, including a 1-1 mark with a 1.89 ERA at home.The Rangers will counter with Shelby Miller (1-2, 7.89 ERA) against the Royals. He allowed two runs on four hits with six strikeouts in four innings in his last start against the Pittsburgh Pirates (a no-decision). If he can continue that type of effort, second place isn't too far away. At least Woodward believes so."If I felt there was a lack of effort, maybe I would 1/8be upset 3/8," he said. "Our guys are fighting, they are trying, they're grinding. Obviously, our pitchers got hit pretty hard (Sunday) but it wasn't a lack of effort. There is nothing I should be upset about. Execution is one thing, but I'm not upset at our effort." --Field Level Media
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