Looking for one constant during this losing spell? The starting pitching has struggled.

Tim Wakefield was the fourth successive Boston starter to go less than seven innings and give up at least four runs. Though the veteran knuckleballer got better as the game progressed, he was down 5-0 heading into the sixth.

"It's frustrating," Wakefield said. "I couldn't stay out of the big inning. I'm just not making good pitches right now. I'm trying my best. I understand what's going on with our team. We're not pitching too well, and we're not playing too well, and you just want to try and stop the bleeding as best you can, and I just couldn't get the job done. "

Wakefield went 6 2/3 innings, allowing nine hits and five runs, four of which were earned. He fell to 4-4 on the season, taking his second loss in as many starts.

The starting rotation, perceived to be the strength of the team, has fallen on hard times of late. In the last nine games -- during which point the Sox are 3-6 -- the starting staff has a collective ERA of 7.98.

The last Boston pitcher to turn in a quality start was Curt Schilling in a May 25 victory over the A's.

Fortunately for the Sox, Schilling (6-3, 3.00 ERA) will take the ball Saturday night against the Royals.

But Wakefield was hardly a scapegoat for this loss. The bats -- aside from two runs in the top of the sixth -- couldn't sustain much of anything.

"It's just unbelievable how we've been losing," said Sox center fielder Johnny Damon. "These streaks should not happen. We need to get back to finding a way to win, like we did all of last year. We have to find a way to win those close games. We have to be mistake-free right now and we're not quite mistake-free."

What hurt most in this one was some confusion on the bases in the top of the sixth. Doug Mirabelli had just struck a solo shot to put the Sox on the board, and with runners on first and second and one out, David Ortiz hit a blast to deep center.

Unsure whether the ball would be caught by Carlos Beltran, Damon didn't move far off second base off the crack of the bat. But Mark Bellhorn got a better read, and he nearly lapped Damon around the bases.

At first, third base coach Dale Sveum was going to hold Damon at third. But when he saw the baserunners so close together near third base, he had no choice but to send Damon, who wound up scoring.

When Bellhorn saw Sveum waving his arm around, he thought he was being signaled to try and score. But that sign was actually for Damon, and Bellhorn was caught in a rally-crushing rundown with Manny Ramirez coming to the plate.

"It just kind of ended up weird," Bellhorn said. "I knew Johnny was going to score and I got to third and saw Dale waving ... just one of those weird things that happens in a game."

Sveum absolved Bellhorn of any blame.

"Bellhorn's instincts were perfect," said Sveum. "[Initially], I was holding Johnny, but then I thought Bell was right on his [tail] and two people were going to be standing at third so I just started Damon back up again and my focus was strictly on Johnny scoring and I lost track of Bellhorn and it turned into an unfortunate situation. I [brain-locked] and completely forgot about Bellhorn."

Such is life in the midst of a slump. But the Sox are confident their fortunes are about to change.

"It's no fun," said Sox manager Terry Francona. "We certainly care a lot. The best thing I know to do is show up tomorrow and you grind through it and make good things happen. Right now we're just not quite doing that."

The Royals manufactured a run right out of the gate against Wakefield. Tony Graffanino led off the first with a single to center and stole second base. Beltran brought him home with an RBI single to center, giving Kansas City the 1-0 lead.

From that point on, they steadily pestered Wakefield. Angel Berroa produced an RBI single in the second to make it 2-0. In the fourth, Berroa came through again, ripping an RBI triple down the right-field line.

The Royals kept coming. Wakefield lost his control in the fifth, walking Matt Stairs to force in a run. Joe Randa followed with a line drive single just over Pokey Reese's glove, making it 5-0.

"With me, mentally, I feel great," said Wakefield. "Mechanically I feel a little off and I'm not making the pitches I need to make."

While Wakefield settled down, the Sox -- down three runs after six -- tried to get back into it in the top of the seventh.

Scott Sullivan walked back-to-back batters with one out. But he struck out Mirabelli looking after falling behind 2-0. Lefty Jaime Cerda came out of the bullpen to get pinch-hitter Jason Varitek on an inning-ending grounder to second. Varitek might have been a victim of bad luck, as his crisp shot bounced off the mound, slowing it down enough to stay in the infield.

Varitek's near miss was symbolic of not just this game, but the past few days for the Sox.