Snell allowed four runs on 10 hits and a walk while striking out two in five innings, plus one batter.
When asked to describe his outing, the soft-spoken Snell allowed: "Interesting. Need to be in the zone a little more."
Snell continues to be the weak link for a staff that has been on a roll of late. Entering Monday's series opener, Rays starters had worked into the seventh inning in four consecutive games, and each of them were quality starts.
Snell threw 18 pitches in the first and 14 in the second before he needed 34 pitches to get through the third, an inning that saw the Royals score three runs.