The reprieve lasted just 24 hours, one day of scoring before the Royals’ offense turned back to nothing on Monday night at Kauffman Stadium.
For the third time in four nights, the Royals were shut out, this time in a 2-0 loss to the Washington Nationals in the first game of a three-game homestand. The team was back at home, the stadium more familiar, but the template looked the same as it did on Friday and Saturday night in Seattle.
Up and down the lineup, the Royals’ core is struggling. As of Monday night, only Seattle and Tampa Bay had scored fewer runs in the American League. On Monday night, the Royals mustered just five hits against Washington left-hander Gio Gonzalez and a cavalry of relievers.
Gonzalez threw six scoreless innings, outdueling Royals starter Edinson Volquez. The Royals dropped to 13-12 on the season.
In the hours before the opening game of the series, Royals manager Ned Yost sat inside his office at Kauffman Stadium and pondered the first 24 games of his club’s season. The question hung in the air: How did he view his team’s opening month? The Royals began the season with eight victories in 10 games, lost nine of 13, then broke a five-game skid with a victory in Seattle on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s hard to answer a question like that when you’ve lost five out of your last six,” Yost said. “So, no, it’s not where we want to be, but we’re doing fine.”
Gonzalez needed a full 28 pitches to navigate through just four Royals batters in the bottom of the first inning. First baseman Eric Hosmer worked a walk with two outs and nobody on base. Kendrys Morales saw eight pitches before driving the ninth pitch - a 91 mph fastball - to deep left field. Off the bat, the ball appeared jolted and headed for the Royals’ bullpen in left field. But the baseball did not carry, dying in the cool night air, falling into the glove of left fielder Jayson Werth at the warning track.
From that moment, the Royals could do little to harass Gonzalez. And even when the opportunities came, the struggles appeared self-inflicted.
Lorenzo Cain managed a two-out single to left in the bottom of the third before advancing to second on Hosmer’s second walk. With Morales at the plate, Cain attempted to steal third base on the second pitch. He was thrown out by Washington’s Jose Lobaton, ending the inning. The decision to run was confounding.
Gonzalez required just 23 pitches to traverse the fourth and fifth innings. He neutralized the Royals’ offense with a 90 mph fastball and a healthy dosage of curveballs.
The Royals’ attack once again applied pressure in the sixth after Hosmer and Morales connected on back-to-back singles with one out. But Gonzalez stood firm, coaxing consecutive fly balls from Alex Gordon and Salvador Perez.
Gonzalez, 30, entered Monday with a 1.42 ERA in four starts this season. After throwing 102 pitches and allowing just four hits over seven scoreless innings, he had lowered the mark to 1.15.
The quiet production from the Kansas City offense nullified a solid effort from Volquez, who allowed two runs while pitching into the eighth inning.
The only damage came during the top of the first inning. Volquez paid for a leadoff walk to Nationals centre field Michael Taylor. He was let down by a slight misplay by right fielder Paulo Orlando.
The inning began with Taylor drawing a walk and third baseman Anthony Rendon singling to centre field. Volquez responded by striking out Bryce Harper - who had, in that moment, struck out five straight times for the second time in his career. But a moment later, Ryan Zimmerman followed by lashing a liner to right field. Orlando broke late on the ball and it carried over his head, scoring Taylor from third.
Second baseman Daniel Murphy, last seen facing the Royals in the World Series last fall, made the score 2-0 on a ground-out to first base. With sharper defense in right field, the Nationals could have been limited to a lone run. Instead, Volquez was on the hook for two, and he appeared determined to make up for the early nicks.
He lasted into the eighth inning, tossing zeros on the scoreboard and finishing with seven strikeouts while throwing 114 pitches. In the end, the offense could not support its workhorse.

RESULTS
Chicago Cubs  7  Pittsburgh   2   
Texas         2  Toronto      1   
NY Mets       4  Atlanta      1   
San Francisco 9  Cincinnati   6   
Milwaukee     8  LA Angels    5   
Minnesota     6  Houston      2   
St. Louis     10 Philadelphia 3   
Washington    2  Kansas City  0   
Seattle       4  Oakland      3   
San Diego     2  Colorado     1

Dodgers pitcher Ravin banned 80 games
Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Josh Ravin was banned for 80 games on Monday after testing positive for growth hormones, the Major League Baseball team announced in a statement.Ravin, 28, said supplements he had taken in order to accelerate his recovery from a bout of flu were to blame for the positive test. “We are disappointed to hear that Josh has violated Major League Baseball’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program,” the Dodgers said. “The Dodgers fully support MLB’s policy toward eliminating performance enhancing substances from the sport.”
Major League Baseball said Ravin had tested positive for growth hormone releasing peptide 2 (GHRP-2). Ravin’s suspension is effective immediately. In a statement released via the MLB Players Association, Ravin said he had taken the banned substance unwittingly.
“During 2016 Spring Training, I came down with a severe case of intestinal flu and strep throat,” Ravin said. “I was put on antibiotics and lost a total of 20 pounds (nine kilograms) in less than seven days.  To try and speed up my recovery, I took some supplements that I thought would help. Unfortunately, I was not as careful as I should have been, and one of the supplements contained a banned substance. “This has been a very painful lesson for me... I take full responsibility for the consequences of my actions and my bad judgment,” added Ravin, who said he had no plans to appeal the suspension. Ravin’s positive test comes just days after Miami Marlins batting champion Dee Gordon was banned for 80 games on Friday after testing positive for steroids.