Kansas City handed its bullpen a late lead again on Sunday, and the reliever who lost it did not look for excuses.
The Kansas City Royals found the same painful ending one more time on Sunday, giving back a late lead at PNC Park in a 4-3 loss that completed a three-game sweep for the Pirates.
It was a fourth straight defeat for Kansas City, which closed its final road trip of the season at 2-7.
The Eighth Inning Turns Again
Kansas City led 3-2 when reliever Nate Pearson took over for the eighth.
Designated hitter Ryan O'Hearn, a former Royal, greeted him with a single, pinch-runner Ronny Simon took his place at first, and catcher Rafael Flores Jr. drove a two-run homer to left that put Pittsburgh ahead.
It was the second straight day Kansas City lost a lead in the eighth inning.
The Royals put the tying run at third base in the ninth on a double by catcher Luke Maile and an error, but pinch-hitter Isaac Collins flied out to end it.
The earlier innings had gone Kansas City's way in small doses, with first baseman Salvador Perez singling home shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. in the first and first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino delivering a pinch-hit two-run homer in the seventh, while center fielder Oneil Cruz and first baseman Spencer Horwitz accounted for Pittsburgh's first two runs.
One swing erased what Kansas City had spent the whole afternoon building, and Pearson, who also took the loss in Friday's series opener, did not try to hide from it when he spoke after the game.
It is hard to ask for more than that from a reliever in a season with nothing left on the line.
"I just didn't get the job done. It's frustrating because I felt like I had been throwing the ball well. These are games you have to win."
A Bullpen Being Sorted in Real Time
The late innings have become the nightly question for this team.
Right-hander Craig Kimbrel went on the bereavement list on Saturday and fellow right-hander Spencer Bivens was recalled from Omaha, all while the staff was still steadying itself after a rough start earlier in the trip.
The club has reworked its relief group more than once this season, and manager Matt Quatraro said afterward that his team competed hard and could have won all three games in Pittsburgh while pointing out that these losses are usually built earlier than the final swing.
Starter Michael Wacha gave the club 113 pitches to spare the relievers, and the game still came down to the one inning nobody could cover.
Real Stakes
Kansas City sits at 67-89 and gets Monday off before finishing at Kauffman Stadium, with the White Sox in town from Tuesday through Thursday and the Guardians arriving for the weekend.
Cleveland leads Chicago by a single game in the AL Central, so the Royals will spend their final week helping decide how somebody else's October begins.
Witt has already earned recognition from the league this season, and the last six games will show which relievers deserve to be part of the next Royals team that plays meaningful September baseball of its own.
The sweep stings, but a week against two teams fighting for a division title is a better test than most losing clubs get in late September.
