The Kansas City Royals’ offensive struggles continued, as they had to wait until the eighth inning to bring in their only run in Thursday’s 6-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.

The Royals were able to create opportunities with seven hits, including three singles from Michael Massey, but they rarely capitalized, going one-for-12 with runners in scoring position while stranding ten base runners. Three of those runners were left on base in the fourth, when after Cavan Biggio took his base with a hit-by-pitch, Drew Waters struck out swinging and Kyle Isbel sent a fly ball to left field.

The Royals’ only run came in the eighth when Maikel Garcia sent a ground ball up the middle to bring home Salvador Perez. The Royals’ threat was contained when Hunter Renfroe hit into a double play, and was further squelched when the Tigers claimed a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. Detroit scored three in the third and one in the fifth to stay atop the AL Central.

Michael Lorenzen took the loss for the Royals, going 4.2 innings with four runs on seven hits, allowing three walks while striking out three. Chris Stratton allowed the other two runs on four hits and a walk, while Steven Cruz claimed the final out.

The Royals fall to 8-12 and are now 1-6 on the road trip. They send Cole Ragans to the mound for game two of the four-game series Friday evening, with first pitch at 5:40 p.m. on KMMO-FM 102.9. Pregame is at 5 p.m. on KMMO AM 1300.