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We all knew the Kansas City Royals winning streak would eventually come to an end. That doesn’t mean the conclusion was any less disappointing in the series finale against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Sunday’s game at Tropicana Field was a neck-and-neck affair, with neither team scoring until the top of the sixth inning. Shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. finally put the Royals on top with a home run to left field, his ninth of the season.

Despite that slight edge, it felt like enough for the Royals. Starter Michael Wacha had a stellar showing at that point, retiring 15 consecutive Rays batters. He wasn’t overpowering the competition but rather relying on his vast pitch arsenal, as he has all season. As speculation arose about the possibility of a Wacha no-hitter, shortstop José Caballero dashed those hopes with a double down the third base line. Wacha worked around the leadoff double and left the mound in the sixth with a 1-0 lead.

Like those no-hitter odds that evaporated quickly, so did Kansas City’s margin of error. Wacha returned to the mound in the seventh, arguably seeking one more inning pitched. The veteran’s taxing end to the sixth inning proved too much, as he allowed a leadoff single and then a double. Tampa Bay had runners on second and third with no outs, spelling the end of Wacha’s afternoon.

Righty John Schreiber has been clutch for most of the season but couldn’t keep the Rays off the scoreboard. The possibility looked promising after a force out at home tallied the inning’s first out, but infielder Brandon Lowe laced a triple to right field, clearing the bases and putting the Rays up 3-1 in the seventh inning. It was all the Florida man wrote for Kansas City, and Lowe scoring from third was the final nail.