Junk has a rare rough outing vs. Royals as Marlins’ four-game winning streak snapped

As Marlins starter Janson Junk reached the dugout after the top of the fifth Sunday afternoon, catcher Agustín Ramírez gave him an encouraging pat on the backside.

Junk, who hadn’t allowed an earned run through 18 consecutive innings, allowed three in the fourth inning.

After three more runs (two earned) in the fifth, he was done — and eventually, the Marlins’ four-game winning streak would be finished, too.

Despite scoring four runs, all with two outs in the ninth, the Marlins lost to the Royals 7-4 at loanDepot park, missing a chance to sweep their third series in the past month as they head into a three-game set Monday against the Padres.

“Today, overall, it wasn’t our cleanest game,” said Marlins’ manager Clayton McCullough. “We gave away too many extra outs. We didn’t take care of the baseball like we have been.

“It led to some extra stress on Janson. It led to some runs they were able to put on. It’s great how we finished there, to be able to come back. But looking at this game in totality, we gave some away.”

Sunday marked Junk’s sixth start since transitioning from the bullpen into the rotation — and one of his least effective.

After three consecutive quality starts in which he allowed only two earned runs through 19 innings, he gave up five earned runs on six hits to the Royals — all in his final two innings. He threw 69 pitches (47 strikes), striking out one and walking one.

After hitting Jonathan India with a pitch to start the game, Junk settled in and retired nine straight before Bobby Witt Jr. doubled to center with one out in the fourth.

Vinnie Pasquantino followed with a single to right, and Maikel Garcia put the Royals on the board with a sacrifice fly. Salvador Perez then roped a ground-rule double, and former Florida Gators star Jac Caglianone, who was hitting .143 entering the game, cleared the bases with a two-run double into the gap in center for a 3-0 lead.

“They were attacking — I have to be better at realizing that,” said Junk, referring to four consecutive batters hitting his first pitch. “It was just a lot of fastballs that missed too much of the plate, and the top of their lineup’s good. During that fourth inning, that was pretty much the bulk of it that did the damage.”

The Royals kept rolling in the fifth, starting with a throwing error by shortstop Otto Lopez. India ripped a two-run double, and Pasquantino added a sacrifice fly. The inning also featured a wild pitch by Junk and a fielding error by Ramírez.

“Especially when guys get on, they know I’m going to be in the [strike] zone, so the biggest thing for me is executing my pitches a little better,” Junk said. “When I want to go [inside], miss in. When I want to go away, miss away, instead of the ones that leak over a little bit and find barrel. That’s the biggest takeaway.

“I thought my breaking stuff was good. But those early-count fastballs kind of killed me those two innings.”

The Marlins, meanwhile, couldn’t solve Royals’ starter Kris Bubic.

After brushing back former Stanford teammate Kyle Stowers with his first pitch to him Sunday, Bubic induced a soft comebacker to the mound two pitches later, stranding runners on second and third to end the first inning.

“He’s tough,” McCullough said of Bubic. “Good stuff he can use to both sides of the plate. It’s tough to really zero in on anything. He kept the ball off the barrel with a lot of soft contact. He’s having an All-Star season for a reason and pitched a really nice game today.”

Xavier Edwards put the Marlins on the board in the ninth with a two-run single off reliever Andrew Hoffmann, and Ramírez followed with a two-run double to tighten the score.

That prompted the Royals to turn to Carlos Estévez, who gave up an infield single to Lopez before retiring pinch hitter Liam Hicks on a flyout to end the game.

“I continue to love that about our group,” McCullough said. “Showing that all season long — their resiliency, the toughness. We’re going to keep playing until it’s over.

“To go into that ninth, down seven, and force the opposition to have to bring their closer in — it’s a testament to those guys not giving anything away and just continuing to try to scratch and claw until the end. So that part, I’m very pleased with and continue to be pleased with how our group goes about it.”

▪ Jesús Sánchez started in right field for Derek Hill — who injured his finger swinging in the batting cage Saturday — and made a stellar diving catch in the third inning to steal a hit from Adam Frazier. Hill, dealing with swelling, was available off the bench, McCullough said pregame.

▪ The probable starting pitchers for the Padres series include Eury Pérez on Monday, Edward Cabrera on Tuesday and Sandy Alcantara on Wednesday. It will be Cabrera’s first start since undergoing an MRI on his elbow.