KC Royals: Off Day Observations

After a rough 0-7 road trip with the Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox, the Royals will finally be coming home. The KC Royals will host the Twins, White Sox, and Indians over the next 10 days as they try and comeback from one of the worst road trips in club history. 

While away from Kauffman this past week, the KC Royals were outscored 13-41 and did not see a single win in the Windy City or in Arlington.

The constant battle between the Royals hitters and the opposing pitcher finally seemed to swing in the Royals directions on Tuesday and even parts of Wednesday. However, the starting pitching finally let the Royals down as the White Sox scored 27 runs in three games. The Royals broke their bad streak of scoring two runs or less in eight straight games by scoring five on Tuesday, but they let up 10 runs in the process. This season has been full of disappointment and maybe an off day is exactly what the team needs to regroup.

First Observation:

Mike Moustakas is the Royals best hitter

After tearing his ACL last season, Moose has comeback strong to show the power he had before the injury. Moustakas leads the team in home runs, RBI’s, runs scored, and hits.

After being pushed up to the leadoff spot like I suggested, the offense now has a home run factor at the top of the lineup. Through 21 games, Moose has sevens homers, 11 RBI’s, and an .276 average. At least Moustakas knows how to perform during a contract year.

Second Observation:

Eric Hosmer had three (!!!) hits yesterday

It might be a fluke, a good day, or some good luck, but Eric Hosmer put up a three hit performance yesterday to signal his resurrection. Now he might not be coming back from the dead, but he did raise his batting average over .200. We should all mark our calendars on April 26 for National Eric Hosmer got a hit day. All joking aside, the assumed leader of this team is only batting .220 but after a solid performance at the plate yesterday it should give hope to all fans that he figured something out.

Third Observation:

The KC Royals are still in the thick of things

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The Royals are only 4.5 games out of FIRST PLACE in the American League Central. After dropping seven games in a row their record sits at 7-14, not good. It is good however that almost every team in the division is struggling and playing around .500 ball at the moment.

Even through all of the pain, the Royals really aren’t that far back from being contenders in the division again. There are still 141 games left, 4.5 can be conquered.

Fourth Observation:

Everyone seems to have given up

There is a lot of negative news surrounding the Royals after a tough seven game losing streak, and rightly so. Nonetheless, the fan base needs to come together and support this team before the core players are gone.

Not everyone is bashing the Royals, but there plenty more people who are already losing interest in this team just 21 games in. There is still plenty of time to fix what has been done so far, so don’t give up just yet. Some examples of the jokes going around on social media can be seen here:

The Royals have even dropped to 26th in the latest FanSided MLB Power Rankings, yikes.

Fifth Observation (Prediction) :

The streak ends tomorrow, seriously

Fans at Kauffman Stadium will be pleased to see a Friday night win for their Royals in the stylish gold uniforms. Ian Kennedy (0-2, 2.08 ERA) faces off against Kyle Gibson (0-3, 9.00 ERA) in a pitching matchup that heavily favors the Royals. Kansas City could see their first win since April 19 if they get to Gibson early and have well-disciplined at-bats to draw walks. Gibson has let up seven walks in only 17 innings as well as given up five long balls.

The Royals could use the trio of Moustakas, Cain, and Hosmer to build an early inning lead that Kennedy can hang on too for the rest of the game.

Final Thoughts

An off day like this could be exactly what the Royals need to regroup as a team and figure out what they are doing wrong at the plate. This long home stand is one of the better chances for the Royals to catch up ground on divisional opponents.

"KC Royals: What is Wrong with Alcides Escobar Offensively?"

Kauffman Stadium needs to be rowdy and packed full over the weekend for the team to gain confidence and play to their full potential. A comeback story is not out of the question just yet, ask Duffy.