The Kansas City Royals lost 6-5 to the Chicago White Sox on Wednesday, and it was partly because of starting pitcher Seth Lugo. The 2024 All-Star earned the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits over five innings, tallying four strikeouts against two walks.

White Sox center fielder Tristan Peters opened the scoring with an RBI double in the second inning before scoring on a fielding error by Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino. Chicago second baseman Chase Meidroth then hit a sacrifice fly in the third before right fielder Jarred Kelenic hit a two-run double in the fifth.

This was Lugo's second consecutive uneven start, as he allowed four runs over four innings in Thursday's 8-5 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. The 6-foot-4, 225-pounder has five quality starts this year, but he's been performing below his standard recently. He did allow just two runs over six innings in a 3-2 win over the Seattle Mariners on May 2, but coughed up seven runs over 6.1 innings in an 11-9 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on April 26.

Kansas City can't afford to have veterans like Lugo underperform, as it is now 19-24 and tied for last place in the NL Central with the Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins. On the bright side, it's only four games behind the Guardians for first.

Although Kansas City has lost three straight games, the lineup isn't the primary reason why. The club has scored 13 runs over that span, including 10 in the last two games against Chicago.

Second baseman Nick Loftin got the Royals on the board with a sacrifice fly in the fourth before Pasquantino hit an RBI single in the next at-bat. Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. then hit a two-run homer in the ninth to shrink the deficit to 6-5, but that was the final scoring play of the game.

Kansas City is tied with Detroit for 13th in the AL with 179 runs scored on the season, which averages out to 4.16 runs per game. However, the team has scored more than that in seven of 12 contests in May. If the pitching staff pulls its weight over the next few games, the club's record will improve.

Up next for the Royals is a rematch with the White Sox on Thursday before another road series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Thursday's game starts at 7:40 p.m. ET.