Kansas City Royals relief pitcher Juan Cruz stands on the mound before coming out of the game after allowing six runs during the seventh inning against Los Angeles on Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo. The Royals’ bullpen has allowed 33 runs in its last 281/3 innings.

Kansas City, Mo. ? Juan Cruz blowing leads in consecutive eighth innings was tough to stomach. Jamey Wright making it three straight in eight was even worse. Then came Tuesday’s doubleheader debacle.

No way it could get any worse, right?

Fat chance.

Stuck in a seemingly never-ending funk, the Royals took bullpen botchery to a new, shoulder-slumping low, turning what should have been a much-needed win into yet another disheartening loss.

“It’s not only frustrating, it’s embarrassing,” said Wright, who contributed two walks and no outs in Wednesday night’s 9-6 loss to the Los Angeles Angels.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

Amid all the question marks headed into the season, the bullpen, anchored by All-Star Joakim Soria at the back end, was supposed to be a strength in Kansas City.

At times, it has been. Royals relievers were solid when the team bolted out to the AL Central lead in the season’s first month and had a 2.78 earned-run average in 18 games from June 23 to July 10, holding opponents to a .205 average. Soria, despite a stint on the DL because of a shoulder strain, still has some of the nastiest stuff in baseball and has a 1.75 ERA with 14 saves in 16 chances.

The problem lately has been getting the ball to him.

Four times in the past six games before Friday, the Royals have blown a lead in the eighth inning, including three straight in a sweep by Tampa Bay last weekend. Overall, Kansas City’s bullpen has allowed 33 runs in its past 281?3 innings and is among the worst in baseball at getting out of jams, allowing more than 40 percent of inherited runs to score.

Simply put, it has been ugly.

“I’ve never seen anything like this with the bullpen,” Royals manager Trey Hillman said. “It’s home runs, it’s base on balls, it’s broken-bat hits, it’s ineffectiveness.”

Hillman has been reluctant to use Soria for more than three outs, hoping to avoid another stint on the DL. He had no choice Wednesday.

Coming off a doubleheader sweep in which the bullpen allowed nine runs in eight innings, the Royals were in the process of wasting away Brian Bannister’s quality start against the Angels. Left with few options, Hillman brought in Soria with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth.

Normally, Kauffman Stadium becomes charged when Soria enters to Guns N’ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle.” This time, it buzzed with an impending sense of doom.

The fans were right.

Within about a minute, Chone Figgins lined a two-run double to the gap in left-center off Soria, breaking the 6-all tie. Many didn’t even stick around to boo; they headed toward the gates nearly before the go-ahead run crossed the plate and didn’t see Maicer Izturis’ sacrifice fly that made it a three-run lead.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” Hillman said of bringing in Soria in the eighth. “That didn’t work, either.”

So how does a bullpen go from lights out to lighting up the scoreboard?

It’s all about momentum.

When things are going good, the players feed off each other, confidence from one reliever’s good outing spreading from one arm to the next. Of course, it can work the other way, too. One shaky inning can lead to another, and pretty soon the whole bullpen is swirling in negativity, blowing wins instead of preserving them.

Right now, the Royals are in that downward spiral.

“Pitching is contagious, and right now it’s contagious in the battling,” Wright said. “I think once guys start getting confidence, wanting to go out there and pick up the next guy it’ll lead to good things.”