The Kansas City Royals still have a playoff spot on August 12th, thanks in large part to a starting lineup that has gotten off to good starts and avoided mistakes that would have put the game out of reach for the offense. Tonight, the Royals lost a crucial first game to the Minnesota Twins, 8-3. Brady Singer’s bad start was the main reason the Royals blew a 2-0 lead by such a wide margin.

Singer has been very good all year, but two things are true about his career: He is not good against lefties, and he has struggled mightily at Target Field, where he entered today with a .286/.388/.595 triple slash and a 9.15 ERA. Both factors were on display here. The game slipped away from Singer in the second inning when he walked left-hander Carlos Santana with two outs, allowed singles by Ryan Jeffers and Austin Martin, and allowed a home run by left-hander Willi Castro. After that, left-hander Trevor Larnach hit a single and Royce Lewis hit a home run, putting the game out of reach with a 6-2 lead.

While the Royals rallied in the sixth inning on an MJ Melendez double and an Adam Frazier single to make it 6-3, problems continued in Kansas City’s bullpen. Carlos Hernandez, brought in from Omaha to replace the injured Hunter Harvey, wasn’t quite on the hook himself when he allowed two balls in the bottom of the seventh – he walked Larnach, but Bobby Witt Jr. made an error that allowed Lewis to get on base. Matt Wallner promptly hit a line drive single and Manuel Margot hit a sacrifice fly, and the score was 8-3 and out of reach.

A couple of Royals batters pitched well. Kyle Isbel had three hits. Witt hit a home run. It was beautiful. It was an aesthetic beauty, if I may say so.

But overall, this was a game we’ll all quickly forget. It was a good game to go to the ballpark in Minnesota, a wonderful night of good baseball (for them).

Hopefully the Royals can upset the Twins in the next two games of the series. Unfortunately, the Royals have had a lot of trouble against serious opponents lately. Since the All-Star break, the Royals have played 19 games against opponents not named Chicago White Sox, winning 8-11. And against Boston and Minnesota – the Royals’ main rivals for a postseason spot – the Royals have gone 2-5 in that span.

Sooner or later, the Royals have to win some crucial games. Tonight wasn’t that time. Hopefully they can do that tomorrow. The Royals are 65-54, but fortunately still have control of the third wild card spot.