Rewind Yourself: 4/12-4/17 – Keeping It Rolling

In two series against the Twins and Mariners this week, the Royals went 4-2 and have yet to lose a series this year.

After a 6-3 start in the first string of games, they now sit in second place in the AL Central and are one of the few double digit win teams in baseball.  The team defense is making plays that teams of the past few years couldn’t, the pitching staff is showing great control, and the offense is in the top third in many categories.  Alex Gordon is hitting, Luke Hochevar is looking like he’s figuring things out. Things are … good.

For now.

It’s a tough balance to be excited about the team’s performance while understanding that at some point the breaks won’t go our way and the talent level might not make up for it.  But what the heck.  Let’s enjoy it.

Here’s the weekly breakdown:

The Numbers
Slash stats: .267/.318/.349/.667
33 runs scored (5.5/game)
22-50 with runners in scoring position (.440)
4 stolen bases in 6 attempts
18 walks in 220 plate appearances (8.2%)
14 extra base hits

Team ERA: 2.87
Starters ERA: 2.82
Bullpen ERA: 3.00

33/16 K/BB ratio in 53.1 innings pitched

Streaking
Jeff Francoeur, 8-19, 5 RS 5 RBI
Alex Gordon 8-21, 5 RS, 6 RBI
Mike Aviles, 5-14, 8 RBI
Wilson Betemit, 5-14, 4 RBI
Jeremy Jeffress, 4 IP 0 ER
Luke Hochevar, 7 IP, 1 H 1 ER
Bruce Chen, 8 IP 0 ER

Slumping
Chris Getz, 4-23
Kila Ka’aihue, 2-12 (though he only struck out twice this week)
Matt Treanor, 1-11 (but the one was a homer)

The Verdict
Talk of the Royals new aggressiveness dominated the first week of action, and the Royals slowed up a bit on the basepaths this week. Then again, Miguel Olivo‘s a pretty good deterrent for a running game, and the Royals got on base less than last week too, limiting running opportunities.

Alex Gordon is still hitting and is among the league leaders in hits, average, RBI, runs scored, doubles and Kevin Scobee admiration (don’t worry Scobes, I’m a fan too of course). Billy Butler has hit everything hard so far and is walking too. Mike Aviles bounced back to have a good week and Wilson Betemit is seeing the ball well.

In the next week, the Royals take on the Indians for four games in Kansas City then travel to Texas where, hopefully, they have a more normal series than last year in their early trip to Arlington.

I forsee more great plays from Alcides Escobar, at least one more good start from Luke Hochevar (here’s to hoping) and a Joakim Soria bounceback.