Royals option Ventura to Triple-A Omaha

The Royals tried to rally late, but it wasn’t enough as they dropped their series opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates, losing 10-7, Monday night at Kauffman Stadium.

Pirates: SS Jordy Mercer (sprained left knee ligament) went on the disabled list and is expected to miss six weeks…. Pittsburgh is starting A.J.

The Royals cut the deficit to 8-7 in the seventh and chased Burnett.

Making a roster spot available for Vargas, who has been battling a strained left flexor muscle, the Royals have demoted fellow starter Yordano Ventura to Triple-A Omaha.

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Travis Ishikawa, right, celebrates with third base coach Rick Sofield after hitting a two-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game Monday, July 20, 2015, in Kansas City, Mo. Andrew McCutchen would later on make it 5-1 with a double that scored Gregory Polanco.

If you enjoy this website and my attempts to write about the game from an insider’s perspective, thank Clint Hurdle. Dyson then got caught in a rundown, which allowed Rios to steal home, beating Kang’s throw to the plate.

After striking out his first two batters, Medlen gave up an opposite-field, two-run homer to Travis Ishikawa.

However, the Royals would show off a few power themselves in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Kansas City Royals’ Kendrys Morales celebrates as he crosses the… But the Royals were not going quietly Monday night.

The Pirates needed some good news. However, when the ball scooted away from Cain for an error, Kang scored. Perhaps the same treatment will work for Ventura, where he can get back on track while working on any issues that Dave Eiland and the Royals may have identified. His 3.20 ERA as a 23-year-old was very impressive, and his postseason resume speaks for itself.

Closer Mark Melancon pitched a scoreless ninth for his 30th save of the season, 100th of his career, and extended his club record with a 28th consecutive successful save opportunity.

Pirates: RHP Gerrit Cole looks for his major league-leading 14th victory Tuesday night. Burnett to the showers and cutting the Pirates’ advantage to one run. He allowed a season-high six runs and exited with no outs in the fifth inning. There shouldn’t be any worry about Burnett because he has still been phenomenal when evaluating his season as a whole. One guy in particular deserves the game MVP. Reds 5, Cubs 4 • Todd Frazier connected for the first time since he won the All-Star Home Run Derby last week, and Jay Bruce hit a key two-run shot in the sixth inning to lift host Cincinnati to victory. He carried the load Monday and guys around him hit well too. The right-hander struck out seven but gave up six runs. For those reasons I will pick the Pirates.

The Pirates and Royals (55-36) entered the game with the Nos. The Pirates beat a good team and the Royals wouldn’t let the Pirates breathe.

The Pirates bats came to life with 17 hits, though, and the Royals had 14. However, things are not all peachy because the Pirates may have gotten even thinner on their bench.