The Kansas City Royals lose their third in a row, dropping a 9-1 decision to the Seattle Mariners at Kauffman Stadium Saturday night.
The Royals broke a scoreless tie in the 3 rd inning, but their lead was short-lived. The Mariners scored four runs in the 4 th , all coming off the bat of Kenji Johjima, who hit his seventh home run of the season, a grand slam off Royals starter Brian Bannister.
The pitchers had their way until the 9 th inning when the Mariners blew it wide open, scoring five runs. Three of those runs came on Richie Sexson’s sixth home runoff the season off reliever Ryan Braun.
Seattle starter Cha Seung Baek (2-2) pitched seven innings, giving up an unearned run to earn the victory. Bannister (0-3) took the loss, giving up four earned runs in seven innings.
The Royals (19-31) and Mariners close out their weekend series Sunday afternoon at the K.