ST. PETERSBURG — Shane McClanahan surrendered a season-high six runs and a career-high-tying three home runs as the Tampa Bay Rays fell 12-5 to the Kansas City Royals, extending a skid that has dropped the club to 9-18 over the past month.

The loss was McClanahan’s first at home this season and the Rays’ eighth in their last 11 games. The left-hander has posted a 5.78 ERA across four June starts after going 4-0 with a 1.41 ERA over six starts in May, a collapse that has puzzled McClanahan as much as anyone.

“Baseball is very frustrating and challenging. But I feel good. I feel confident. I really do,” McClanahan said. “I feel like I haven’t had better stuff all year, and unfortunately, it’s just not rolling my way.”

McClanahan’s fastball averaged 96.1 mph against Kansas City, up a full mile per hour from April and near the velocity he carried during his All-Star campaigns in 2022 and 2023. He walked just one of the 25 batters he faced. But the Royals attacked early, with Nick Loftin launching a curveball into the left-field seats in the first inning and Tampa native Jac Caglianone demolishing a slider a Statcast-projected 443 feet to right field two pitches later — the first back-to-back homers off McClanahan in his Major League career. Caglianone added a second homer in the fifth, a first-pitch fastball crushed to center.

McClanahan has allowed 25 hits and nine walks in 18 2/3 innings this month. He acknowledged the fifth inning unraveled further after he fielded a bunt by Tyler Tolbert cleanly but sailed the throw past first baseman Jonathan Aranda, allowing a run to score and setting up Caglianone’s second blast.

“I wish I had that throw back. I feel like I make that play nine out of 10 times,” McClanahan said. “Obviously it’s easier for me to say that than do it based on what happened tonight.”

The Rays’ offense offered little support. Tampa Bay put eight runners on base against Royals starter Luinder Avila but scored just once in his five innings. Manager Kevin Cash pointed to a familiar pattern.

“They had a very aggressive approach and capitalized and hit some balls hard,” Cash said of Kansas City. “The story of a lot of our losses is not getting a big hit early on when we’ve got some traffic on base.”

McClanahan is scheduled to make his next start when the Rays continue their homestand later this week, looking to snap a four-start losing streak in June and reverse a month-long slide that has put Tampa Bay’s season at a crossroads.