Five things we learned Thursday: Royals in trouble

1:12 AM ET

Jackie Bradley Jr.’s hitting streak was snapped at 29 games, Bryce Harper returned to the lineup (and homered, a 437-foot blast into the third deck to help the Washington Nationals to a 2-1 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals), and we had bad news for the defending champs.

1. Mike Moustakas out for the season. Devastating blow for the Kansas City Royals as Moustakas suffered a torn ACL in a collision Sunday with teammate Alex Gordon, who wound up on the disabled list from the incident himself with a broken hand. The Royals have had great durability from their position players the past two seasons, with six playing in 140-plus games in 2015 and nine playing in 130-plus in 2014. Depth was a concern heading into this season and now it will be tested, with Cheslor Cuthbert (.237/.250/.339 in 60 plate appearances so far) getting time at third base and the red-hot Paulo Orlando likely moving into full-time duty in the outfield. Both are obviously significant downgrades — maybe to the tune of six to eight wins the rest of the season, depending on how long Gordon is out.

The details on Mike Moustakas: The injury, the loss and the way forward: …

continue reading in source espn.go.com