Champs remain in downward spiral

Kris Medlen got pounded off the mound in the third inning. Eric Hosmer got tossed in the sixth.

The rest of the Royals were probably jealous.

At least their starting pitcher and star first baseman didn’t have to suffer through all nine innings of a 13-2 loss to the Nationals on Wednesday, one that sent the spiraling World Series champions to their seventh loss in nine games.

“I feel like I let us down and didn’t give us a chance to win, obviously, looking at the score,” Medlen said. “They hit mistakes, they hit good pitches— itwas just kind of a snowball effect.”

Daniel Murphy finished a triple shy of the cycle, and slumping slugger Bryce Harper also went deep as the Nationals pounded out 16 hits. Murphy and Clint Robinson drove in three runs apiece.

Medlen (1-3) allowed nine runs, six of them earned, and six hits in two-plus innings for the Royals. His ERA rose to 20.65 in two starts at Kauffman Stadium this season. The Nationals were up 6-0 before the Royals got to bat for the first time.

“It just wasn’t Medlen’s day,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “Three errors in the first inning didn’t help him. It was just a struggle.”

Stephen Strasburg (5-0) allowed two runs and five hits in six innings for the Nationals.

“It might sound strange, but it made it a little more difficult,” Strasburg said. “You have to trick your mind into thinking it’s a 0-0 game.”

Things got so bad for the Royals that the mild-mannered Hosmer, their hottest hitter, got ejected for the first time in his six-year career after arguing with plate umpire CB Bucknor following a strikeout in the sixth.