KANSAS CITY, Mo. — There were two plays within one inning Friday that occurred in almost exactly the same situations, but the different results were the highlight of the Twins’ 5-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium.

After Kyle Isbel worked a one-out walk in the third inning, Tommy Pham hit a fastball from Twins rookie Zebby Matthews into the left-field wall. Isbel easily scored the game’s first run from first base, catching a relay throw in front of the plate.

With the Twins trailing by a run in the fourth inning, Kyle Farmer hit a two-out single. Three pitches later, Austin Martin followed with a line drive to left field, the ball bouncing off the wall at nearly the same spot as Pham’s RBI double. Farmer ran on contact, however, and was knocked 10 feet out of bounds on a relay throw by Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.

The loss saw the Twins fall half a game behind the Royals in the standings and now occupy the third and final wildcard spot with 21 games left in the season.

In a key three-game series that includes two nationally televised games between division rivals, the Royals took advantage of every little play. After Pham opened the fifth inning with an infield single, Witt hit a one-hop comebacker to the mound. For virtually any other major leaguer, it would have been a double play, but the speedy Witt, who has yet to miss a game this season, was faster than the throw to first base.

Witt’s effort gave the Royals an extra out and led to two runs. MJ Melendez hit a two-out single against Matthews and Hunter Renfroe hit a two-strike slider over the leaping shortstop Farmer for a two-run single.

Matthews allowed nine hits and four runs in five innings and had four strikeouts. The Twins have scored a total of five runs in his last four starts, giving the 24-year-old rookie a tough task in his first playoff run.

Pham’s RBI double in the third inning came one pitch after Matthews walked Isbel, his third walk in 22 big league innings. Michael Massey hit a solo home run with two outs in the fourth inning by sinking an inside fastball. Twins catcher Christian Vázquez immediately hung his head in frustration after Massey completed his swing.