Royals come up short again in 4-2 loss to White Sox

CHICAGO _ The two baseballs were crushed, one in the seventh inning and one in the eighth, both likely destined to become game-tying hits until the gloves of the White Sox defenders intervened.tmpplchld In the seventh inning of a 4-2 Royals loss, Ben Zobrist scorched a two-out drive into the gape between left field and center. Rookie left fielder Trayce Thompson sold out on a dive to catch the baseball and strand a runner.tmpplchld An inning later, Mike Moustakas ripped a drive bound for left field, perhaps able to score Eric Hosmer from second base. Instead, third baseman Mike Olt pulled the liner down. Moustakas took a few steps out of the box and stared at the spot.tmpplchld The lone offense from the Royals occurred in the sixth, when Hosmer and Kendrys Morales both hit home runs. Otherwise, the Royals followed a silent, 11-inning night at Wrigley Field with another evening of quiet bats.tmpplchld The deficit expanded to two runs in the bottom of the eighth when Joba Chamberlain gave up an RBI double to Alexei Ramirez. The Royals are now 10-17 in September, and fading into October.tmpplchld With the loss, the Royals effectively trail the Toronto Blue Jays by 2 1/2 games for home-field advantage. Rain postponed Toronto’s game Tuesday night in Baltimore against the Orioles. Because Toronto won the season series against Kansas City, the Royals must finish a full game ahead of the Blue Jays to guarantee the road to the World Series runs through Kauffman Stadium.tmpplchld Johnny Cueto turned in six innings of three-run baseball on Tuesday. He met the minimum qualifications for a quality start, his third in a row. The outing exemplified the lowered standard for Cueto. When the team acquired him in July, the Royals tabbed him as their ace. Now he looks more like to slot behind Yordano Ventura in the American League Division Series next week.tmpplchld The Royals listed Cueto as their starter for Sunday in Minnesota. If Cueto pitches in that game, he would not be ready to pitch again on regular rest until Game 2. Yost declined to discuss the situation before the game.tmpplchld “I told you I wasn’t talking about the rotation until the season is over,” Yost said.tmpplchld Yost did express his confidence in Cueto working with catcher Salvador Perez. Tuesday marked their third start since Cueto confessed to the coaching staff his lack of comfort with Perez. Perez adjusted his positioning, lowering his mitt and setting up further behind the plate.tmpplchld In the next two outings, Cueto spun 14 innings and gave up five runs. In his previous five games, he allowed 30 runs in 26 1/3 innings. Perez has now begun using this strategy with the rest of the staff. And Yost can sense a difference in Cueto’s body language on the mound, as he’s become more willing to challenge hitters with his fastball.tmpplchld “I think he’s more comfortable,” Yost said. “Anything you’re more comfortable in your environment, you’re going to produce better. You’re going to executive better.”tmpplchld After two scoreless innings, Cueto opened the door for a White Sox flurry in the third. He allowed a two-out walk to second baseman Carlos Sanchez, who came to the plate with a .226 batting average.tmpplchld Up two strikes, Cueto missed with four balls in a row, including a 94-mph fastball at the knees with the count full, which umpire Adam Hamari did not see as a strike. Cueto promptly allowed a single to outfielder Adam Eaton and another to first baseman Jose Abreu. Sanchez scored on Abreu’s hit.tmpplchld Two innings later, Sanchez victimized Cueto again. Sanchez roped a flat changeup up the middle for a single. Outfielder Eaton smashed another changeup, also waist-high, into the Royals bullpen for a two-run homer soon after.tmpplchld The offense of the Royals lay dormant for the first five innings. Facing Jeff Samardzija, their nemesis from Opening Day and beyond, the team netted four singles and zero runs until the sixth.tmpplchld At that point, down three, the team experienced a power surge they had not felt since July 25, 2014, when Perez and Moustakas hit back-to-back home runs. The Royals would not complete that feat again until Tuesday, when Hosmer and Morales traded shots.tmpplchld Hosmer pounced on a two-out, first-pitch, 95-mph fastball. He drove it the other way over the left-field fence. Morales whipped his bat at a splitter that dove toward the outer edge of the strike zone. The baseball leaped off his bat and raced over the wall in left-center.tmpplchld ___tmpplchld (c)2015 The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.)tmpplchld Visit The Kansas City Star (Kansas City, Mo.) at www.kansascity.comtmpplchld Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.tmpplchld