The Kansas City Royals lost to the Oakland Athletics tonight via a walkoff home run by Brent Rooker, sending a tied 4-4 score to its final 6-4 count in the bottom of the ninth inning. Rooker got revenge from his previous club, who had released him in mid-November; with the home run, Rooker raised his triple slash to .243/.328/.465, a line that, if he had played for Kansas City, would be the best on the team.
After an invigorating seven-game winning streak, the Royals have now lost 12 of their last 16 games. During that time, the pitching staff has been unplayably bad, having given up six or more runs in 10 contests during that stretch.