Circumstances of Royals’ 11-8 loss to Padres haven’t been seen in MLB game since 1929

Royals fans who braved the rain Friday got to see a celebrity softball game, a pitchers’ duel, two franchise records and something unseen in Major League Baseball since 1929.

The Royals bullpen, which has wobbled of late, imploded in an 11-8 loss to the Padres at Kauffman Stadium.

Trailing by eight runs entering the bottom of the ninth inning, the Royals scored five times and came ohsoclose to tying the game

Nelson Velázquez opened the bottom of the ninth with a 425-foot home run, and the hits kept coming. Maikel Garcia and Bobby Witt Jr. added two-out RBI singles and the Royals had the bases loaded.

San Diego was forced to bring on closer Robert Suárez to close out the game despite entering the ninth with an eight-run lead.

Freddy Fermin greeted Suárez with a two-run single to make it 11-8 and Velázquez followed with a deep drive to left field for the game’s final out. It was a 385-foot flyout that would have been gone in 21 ballparks, according to Baseball Savant.

It would have been out at Petco Park in San Diego. Instead, the Royals came up just short.

“Never quitting and the fight is real,” Witt said of the Royals’ mentality. “I don’t know how that last ball didn’t go out. Never quit and just pass the baton to the next guy and that’s just kind of how we roll.”

Starters Michael Wacha of the Royals and the Padres’ Dylan Cease each threw five scoreless innings to start the game. San Diego broke through with two in the sixth but the Royals countered with a trio of runs.

Then the Royals’ bullpen had a historically bad inning.

San Diego opened the eighth with seven consecutive singles. The first three came against John Schreiber to load the bases. Royals manager Matt Quatraro called on closer James McArthur, who yielded four more hits without getting an out as the Padres turned a one-run deficit in to a 7-3 lead.

Things got worse.

Will Klein took over for McArthur and gave up four hits, including a double, and two runs before getting out of the frame.

The damage in the top of the eighth inning: 14 plate appearances, 10 singles, a double and nine runs scored. The Padres set a franchise record with 11 hits in an inning.

The double-digit hits allowed by the Royals tied a team record that was set on April 11, 1987, against the Yankees.

Opta Stats said the last time an MLB game was scoreless through five innings and ended up with 19 or more total runs scored was on Aug. 18, 1929, when the Braves beat the Reds 10-9.

“We’ve seen these guys do it all year,” Quatraro said of his team. “Up or down, they don’t stop. They keep competing and that’s a real testament to them.”

A bright spot

Despite the loss, the Royals finished May with a 17-11 record, the same mark they had in April. It’s the first time since 2015 that the Royals have won 17 or more games in consecutive months.

So while the Royals have lost five of their last six, they still have a 35-24 record and are in second place in the AL Central. But clearly, things haven’t been great lately, especially with the bullpen.

Another Witt web gem

San Diego scored the game’s first two runs in the sixth inning and had runners on the corners with one out.

Padres cleanup hitter Jake Cronenworth lofted a fly into shallow left field and Witt dashed over from his position at shortstop to make the catch.

Fernando Tatis Jr. tagged on the play and tried to score, but Witt whirled and threw home to nab Tatis for an inning-ending 6-2 double play.

“I know the type of player he is,” Witt said of Tatis. “I’d be doing the same thing. So definitely knew that there’d be a chance to throw him out at home.”

Wacha in boot

Wacha had a painful start to the game. Padres leadoff hitter Luis Arraez smashed a liner back up the middle that went off Wacha’s foot. After the game, he was in a walking boot.

“I stuck my left leg out there trying to stop it and ended up catching me (in) a pretty good spot,” Wacha said. “Get some scans tomorrow and hopefully get some good news there.”

Injury report

Quatraro gave an update on pitcher Brady Singer, who was scratched from his start Thursday at Minnesota because of an illness.

“He’s feeling a lot better,” Quatraro said before Friday’s game. “I mean, he came back this morning. He spent an extra night in Minnesota, came back this morning, saw the doctor. We feel like he’s on the mend. He’s gonna be out here today playing catch, try to get some activity and see how he feels.”

The Royals haven’t announced a starter for Sunday’s game against the Padres.

Quatraro said second baseman Michael Massey, who was injured on May 24, has had “a couple of injections to try and speed the process.” Quatraro hopes to know more on Massey’s return in the next day or two.

Massey, who is dealing with a low back ligament sprain, is on the 10-day injured list.

What’s next: The Royals will face the Padres two more times. Alec Marsh will be on the mound on Saturday, with first pitch at 3:10 p.m.