By Fred Liggett

The Kansas City Royals came into Sunday’s game with Seattle sporting the best home record in major league baseball but failed to improve on it after suffering an 8-5 loss to the Seattle Mariners.

The loss gives the Royals a MLB best 29-13 mark at Kaufman Stadium heading into the ALL-star break.

The Royals fell behind early in this one, thanks to Kyle Seager’s two RBI single in the 1st inning. Royals starter Dillon Gee saw his day end after just three innings and things continually got worse for the home team from there. Lefty Brian Flynn came on in the fourth and gave up a RBI single to Ketel Marte giving Seattle a 3-0 lead. Rookie Brooks Pounders followed in the seventh inning, only to be the victim of the long ball. Mariners Robinson Cano hit a two-run home run, and then Adam Lind out did that with a three-run home run giving the visiting Mariners an 8-0 lead. The long ball trend followed in the bottom half of the seventh inning when Brett Eibner put the Royals on the board with a solo home run to left field. The Royals would add three more runs in the eighth and one in the ninth thanks to Alex Gordon’s Homer into the right field stands. The 8-5 loss gives the Royals a split with the Mariners in the four-game series.

Despite the loss, the Royals finish the first half of the season with a 45-43 mark, the third straight season the team has been over .500 at the break. The Royals will now send manager Ned Yost along with his entire coaching staff to San Diego for Tuesday’s MLB All Star game. Four KC Royals players will join them, Pitchers Wade Davis, Kevin Herrera and American League starters Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez. The Royals return to action on Friday night in Detroit when they begin a three-game weekend series in the motor city. That trip will be followed with the Royals coming home to host AL Central division foe Cleveland starting on Monday, July 18th.