Cueto drops fourth straight start in Royals' 7-5 loss to White Sox
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- This is not the Johnny Cueto the Kansas City Royals expected when they acquired him in a July 26 trade with the Cincinnati Reds.
The Royals thought they were adding a No. 1 starter to face other aces in October.
Cueto, however, was beaten and battered Sunday in a 7-5 loss to the Chicago White Sox.
Cueto (2-5) was pulled after three innings in his fourth straight loss. He was charged with five runs and seven hits. It was his shortest outing since June 28, 2013, when he left after one inning at Texas and went on the disabled list the next day.
Cueto is 0-4 with a 9.45 ERA during his losing streak, yielding 21 earned runs and 37 hits in 20 innings.
"I'm not frustrated at all, but I'm a little bit disappointed I haven't been able to help the team the way I was supposed to help this club," Cueto said with coach Pedro Grifol acting as his interpreter.
Royals manager Ned Yost said he has no concern over Cueto's recent struggles and anticipates it will soon turn around.
"You don't like to see him go through it," Yost said.
He said there are no health issues with Cueto.
"Physically, he feels great," Yost said. "Shoulder feels good, elbow feels good, back, legs. He's just going through a stretch right now."
Cueto said everything feels "normal."
But Cueto is not pitching like he normally does.
"All I can do is come out tomorrow and get ready for the next one," Cueto said.
Adam Eaton went 3 for 5 with a homer and is batting .517 (15 for 29) in his last seven games. Erik Johnson (1-0) pitched six innings of three-run ball in his first major league appearance of the season.
The American League-leading Royals were swept at home for the first time this season.
Kansas City pulled within one with two runs in the seventh. But Eaton doubled and scored on Jose Abreu's sacrifice fly in the ninth, and David Robertson got three outs for his 29th save.
Johnson, who was the International League most valuable pitcher after going 11-8 with a 2.37 ERA with Triple A Charlotte, allowed five hits, including solo homers to Salvador Perez, Jarrod Dyson and Mike Moustakas.
The White Sox scored three runs before making an out. Abreu singled in Eaton, and Avisail Garcia drove in two runs with a base hit.
Chicago tacked on two more runs in the third on Adam LaRoche's RBI single and Rob Brantly's sacrifice fly.
Eaton added his 12th homer with one out in the sixth. The speedy leadoff hitter had six career homers in 211 games coming into the year.
Perez's second-inning homer was his team-leading 19th. Dyson and Moustakas went deep in the sixth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
White Sox: Eaton is dealing with shoulder discomfort. "He's had something nagging him here and there, but it's nothing to keep him out of the lineup," manager Robin Ventura said. He acknowledged trainer Herm Schneider is doing some "maintenance" work on Eaton.
Royals: RHP Ryan Madson (arm fatigue) pitched for the first time since Aug. 22 and gave up a run in the ninth. ... Moustakas (hamstring pull) started for the first time since Aug. 30.
UP NEXT
White Sox: LHP Chris Sale (12-7, 3.29 ERA) gets the ball on Monday afternoon in the opener of a three-game series at home against Cleveland. He has struck out 10 or more in 13 starts, the most in a single season since Randy Johnson recorded 13 such starts in 2004.
Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura (10-7, 4.24 ERA) starts Monday in the opener of a three-game series against Minnesota. Ventura is 4-0 with a 1.13 ERA in his last five starts.