The Royals acquired Johnny Cueto to be their ace. Now if he can only start living up to those expectations.
Cueto did not rise to the occasion Tuesday against visiting Detroit. He surrendered four runs on nine hits in six innings with no walks and two strikeouts, which tied a season-low.
The big blows against him were RBI singles by Miguel Cabrera, Jose Iglesias and Ian Kinsler. He did manage to retire the last seven batters he faced, but he was saddled with his fourth loss in six decisions since arriving in Kansas City.
Cueto has gone south since pitching well in his first four starts. He has given up 16 runs on 30 hits in his last 19 innings.