Little fireworks from Diamondbacks in abysmal loss to Kansas City Royals

A rocky start and little relief from the mound doomed the D-Backs on Friday night as they dropped the series opener to the Kansas City Royals. Arizona starter Eduardo Rodríguez never found his rhythm, giving up three runs before recording an out and ultimately surrendering eight earned runs over just 4.1 innings. The Royals jumped on Rodríguez early, with Vinnie Pasquantino doing the most damage. The Kansas City slugger launched a three-run homer in the first and followed it up with a two-run shot in the fourth.

Despite the early deficit, the D-Backs showed signs of life in the bottom of the first. Eugenio Suárez brought home a run with a sacrifice fly, and Josh Naylor followed with an RBI single to cut the lead to 3-2. But the offense sputtered from there, managing just one more run the rest of the way from a solo homer by Eugenio Suárez in the sixth.

The 9-3 loss marks Arizona’s third straight and drops them to 43–45, continuing a frustratingly inconsistent stretch as they try to stay in the NL Wild Card mix. They’ll look to bounce back Saturday behind right-hander Ryne Nelson, who takes the hill against Kansas City’s Michael Wacha.