The Kansas City Royals lost two out of three games to the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend, but Sunday's 8-5 defeat rubbed salt in the wound. The Brewers deployed former Royals pitcher Angel Zerpa out of the bullpen, who allowed no earned runs over 1.2 innings.

Kansas City first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino praised his teammate-turned-opponent postgame, via KDH News's Blair Kerkhoff.

"He's nasty," the Virginia native said.

Zerpa entered with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the seventh. Milwaukee was up 6-3, but Kansas City was in the middle of a rally. Right fielder Starling Marte hit a leadoff single off reliever Grant Anderson before second baseman Jonathan India walked. The Brewers then brought in right-hander Abner Uribe, who gave up a single to left fielder Isaac Collins and an RBI single to third baseman Maikel Garcia before striking out shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.

Zerpa then came in to face Pasquantino, who hit a two-run single to make the game 6-5. However, the 26-year-old hurler then got catcher Salvador Perez to fly out and center fielder Lane Thomas to ground out, which ended the frame. He then tossed a scoreless eighth before Milwaukee added two insurance runs in the ninth, and closer Trevor Megill notched the save to end the game.

Zerpa painted the corners with sliders and sinkers while mixing in the occasional changeup to disorient the Royals, showing why the Brewers acquired him for Collins and fellow reliever Nick Mears this past offseason. On the bright side for Kansas City, the latter pitcher threw a scoreless sixth inning on Sunday and hasn't allowed a run in four outings this year.

Zerpa is also off to a hot start for Milwaukee, as he's logged four scoreless outings as well. However, there's no reason for Kansas City to regret the trade yet.

Collins has already shown his offensive prowess, as he has a .796 OPS with one homer and three RBIs through nine games. The 28-year-old logged a .779 OPS with nine homers, 54 RBIs, and 16 stolen bases over 130 contests for the Brewers last season, so his hot start this year is no fluke.

Plus, Mears could be just as productive as Zerpa going forward. The right-hander notched a 3.49 ERA across 63 outings for the Brewers last season, while Zerpa had a 4.18 mark over 69 games. Even if the latter pitcher improves his ERA, the value of having Collins and Mears combined is a safe bet to make the trade worth it on paper.

Up next for the Royals is a road series against the Cleveland Guardians starting on Monday.