After winning the first two games of their series against the Kansas City Royals in extra innings, the Arizona Diamondbacks were not as fortunate on Wednesday night as they fell, 5-2 at Kauffman Stadium.

Because of the loss, Arizona missed out on the sweep.

On the night following Corbin Burnes’ return to the starting rotation, the Diamondbacks got Zac Gallen back.

Gallen had not pitched since July 7 because of right elbow inflammation, and the rust accumulated from his absence was on display. In 3.1 innings of work, Gallen gave up four hits, one of which was a home run, and two walks while striking out one batter.

The home run Gallen allowed came in the top of the third, when leadoff hitter Carter Jensen sent a ball deep to right-center field. The homer gave the Royals a 2-0 advantage, and Gallen’s evening came to a close in the bottom of the fourth after giving up his second walk of the evening.

For Gallen, it has not been a great season, even when he has been healthy. Therefore, it is not surprising he endured some struggles in his first game back in over two months. At this point, the hope is that he can shake off the rust and become a solid contributor down the stretch.

After falling behind, the Diamondbacks began to gain some momentum.

In the top of the fourth inning, Nolan Arenado hit a leadoff solo home run, his 23rd homer of the season, to put Arizona on the board. In the top of the fifth, the Diamondbacks tied the game thanks to an RBI single by Ketel Marte.

Arizona’s stars showed up when they needed to. Unfortunately for the Diamondbacks, their momentum was snuffed out quickly.

At the bottom of the fifth, right-hander Michael Soroka replaced Derek Law, and it ended up backfiring for the visitors. 

Soroka started the inning out well by notching a strikeout. But then, he gave up a single and a walk before Bobby Witt Jr. took him deep for a three-run home run. With one swing of Witt’s bat, the work the Diamondbacks’ offense had put in to get back in the game was stripped away.

Arizona logged five more hits the rest of the evening, but it never turned into runs as it dropped the series finale. With the loss, the Diamondbacks have fallen back into fourth place in the National League Wild Card standings. 

Now, they will have Thursday off before kicking off a series at home against the Texas Rangers on Friday at 6:40 p.m. MST.