Kansas City Royals’ offense sputters in second game of doubleheader with White Sox

Vinnie Pasquantino’s bat and Nate Eaton’s glove were on display and elicited gasps from Kansas City Royals fans, but they weren’t enough to secure a doubleheader sweep for the home club.

The Royals scored just two runs, one coming in the ninth inning, in a 3-2 loss to the Chicago White Sox in front of an announced 12,700 in the second game of a doubleheader at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday night.

Pasquantino went 2 for 3 with a home run. He played a role in both runs for the Royals (45-66), who had just five hits in the game. His single in the ninth inning gave the Royals a baserunner. Kyle Isbel pinch ran for him and scored the second run.

“We’re all disappointed that we didn’t win the last game, but you’re pretty much supposed to split doubleheaders,” Pasquantino said. “That’s typically how they go. So we’re happy to get one, and we’re ready to get back out there tomorrow.”

The Royals won the day’s first game, 4-2, and Pasquantino became the 13th Royals player and third rookie to homer in both games of a doubleheader.

White Sox starting pitcher Davis Martin (2-3) allowed one run on three hits and a walk in 5 2/3 innings in the second game. The only run he allowed came on Pasquantino’s fourth-inning 404-foot solo homer that sailed into the bullpen beyond the right field fence.

“I’ve got some things that I’ve specifically been working on,” Pasquantino said. “But I think when it comes to a swing, you kind of make adjustments pitch by pitch. It just kind of depends on what you’re seeing from pitchers. You make adjustments accordingly. Obviously, you try to be consistent in what you’re doing, but you have to play the game too.

“So yeah, I’m working on this every day. Today it worked. Hopefully, tomorrow we get back out there and individually I can do it again and that can help lead us to a win.”

Pasquantino, who debuted in the majors on June 28, has logged an average exit velocity of 92.1 mph on his first 106 batted balls in the majors. While a relatively small sample size, that’s similar to what reigning AL MVP Shohei Ohtani has posted for an average exit velocity this season (92.6 mph).

But Pasquantino hadn’t had a lot of luck to show for it early on in his big-league career. He entered the day batting .227 with a .336 slugging percentage despite the consistent hard contact.

“You know when you see the hard-hit rate as consistent that he’s finding the barrel,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Pasquantino. “Sooner or later, he’s going to be able to get to the right angle to get into the air a little bit and let it carry. Then you look late and he takes the ball the other way, and he takes his walk. Just an all-around good idea at the plate today.”

Heasley solid in a loss

Royals starting pitcher Jonathan Heasley, added to the roster as the 27th player for the doubleheader, allowed two runs on seven hits and one walk in 5 1/3 innings.

Heasley’s last start in the majors came against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 30, fresh off of an IL stint for shoulder tendinitis. He’d made just one rehab start prior to that start against the Yankees.

“I felt way better today. I felt way better my last start in Omaha too,” Heasley said. “I think I’m just kind of building back up, honestly. Getting that last start in New York then going into Omaha, I felt better last week. I felt even better today. I’m really happy with how the arm is feeling.”

Heasley (1-7) gave up his first run in the third inning when Lenyn Sosa belted a 1-1 curveball over the left-center field wall for his first homer in the majors.

Then in the sixth, Heasley gave up a solo homer to Yoan Moncada on a changeup that stayed up and over the middle of the plate.

Heasley left with the Royals trailing by a run, 2-1, with one out in the sixth and two men on base. Left-hander Amir Garrett entered and retired two batters on a fly ball and a strikeout to strand the runners on base and keep the Royals within a run.

“I felt like I was on the attack from the get-go,” Heasley said. “I made some good pitches. Obviously, really just two mistakes that came back to haunt me. That sucks. But overall, I felt really good about it and felt like I made some good pitches throughout.”

Matheny acknowledged a noticeable drop in the sharpness of Heasley pitches in that start in New York coming off the IL, but that was not the case in his outing on Tuesday.

Heasley still has some “cleaning up” to do with his delivery in order to maintain consistency, particularly with the fastball location, but he had a strong outing in Matheny’s eyes.

“You could tell he was a little more timed up,” Matheny said of Heasley. “I thought he looked good. He had a couple breaking balls that rolled into the zone, and one cost him for a home run. But I thought he used his slider better. The curveball, at times, he got a couple good swing-and-misses on it. And his changeup is always a good pitch. I thought overall it was much better.”

The Royals returned Heasley to Triple-A following the game.

Eaton’s sliding catch to snag the ball inches from the turf in right field came in the seventh inning.

The White Sox added a run in the eighth inning against reliever Jose Cuas, who recorded the save in the first game. Cuas allowed a leadoff walk and then a two-out RBI double by Gavin Sheets to make the Royals’ deficit two runs, 3-1.

The Royals scored in the ninth to pull within a run after Pasquantino singled to left field against a shifted infield. Then Isbel, running for Pasquantino advanced twice on wild pitches by White Sox closer Liam Hendriks and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Nick Pratto.

However, the Royals weren’t able to get the tying run on base.