Assessing The Royals Recent Hot Streak/Playoff Chances

The Royals are playing well right now, using a wicked combination of great starting pitching and clutch hitting late in games.  It’s a completely legitimate hot stretch and the Royals are now winners of 8 straight games. After the worst month of any defending World Series Champ in history the Royals are back on the fringe of contention, just four games back in the American League Wildcard race.

The next 12 games are absolutely crucial and will determine whether or not the Royals have a shot at making the playoffs. Kansas City stands at 64-60. They are running out of time and they will have to get some help from the American League East, one of those teams needs to start losing fast. The Royals magic number, the way things are trending, needs to be 90 wins. That means they need to go 26-12 the rest of the way. If they can do that. They have a great chance because eventually Toronto, Baltimore, and Boston will damage  each other head to head down the stretch.

KC had the day off yesterday, and I’m sure Eric Hosmer and Cheslor Cuthbert enjoyed their fishing trip, but now it’s time to get back to baseball.

Looking At The Next Series

The Marlins are a solid team, but the loss of Giancarlo Stanton is big for the fish. They aren’t the same team without him, and that loss of power might keep them out of the playoffs. The Marlins however are just one game back in the National League Wildcard race, so they are playing for just as much as the Royals. Wednesday night, the Royals have to content with Miami ace Jose Fernandez and it looks like Dillon Gee will go for KC.

Kansas City has been playing well largely due to the pitching. They have had some shut down innings helping the Royals outscore opponents 49-13 over the 8 game winning streak. The big elephant in the room is we know this team is bad on the road. They have been better lately, but they can’t afford now to slip back into old ways. It all starts with Ventura tonight, and a good start from him on the road could be the difference between staying in contention and playing for next season.

After the 6 game roadstand, KC returns home to face the Yankees and the Tigers, for tickets call ticketsforless.com.  The Royals piece together a winning record this road trip those two home series could be the biggest of the year.