Royals: 5 Reasons The Walking Dead Offense Rose From The Grave

The Royals offense came into the Minnesota series scoring 3.53 runs per game. They bombed the Twins with 41 hits and 22 runs while taking two out of three games. How did they do it?

For the first time this season, the Kansas City Royals notched 10 hits in three straight games. The whole lineup was hitting, with the exception of Eric Hosmer—who was pretty much the only guy succeeding at the plate for much of this season.

This sudden turn-around came shortly after the KC Royals lost two 2015 All-Stars when left fielder Alex Gordon and third baseman Mike Moustakas slammed into one another chasing a pop foul against the White Sox on Sunday. Both players injured themselves on the play, with Gordon breaking a bone in his hand and Moustakas suffering a contusion on his knee.

Alex Gordon will miss three to four weeks, while Moustakas is listed as day-to-day; but he will see the Kansas City Royals team doctor when the team returns home Thursday.

Generally, teams don’t go on offensive tears after losing two of their best players.

Just. saying.

So, how did the KC Royals pull it off? Here five reasons:

Next: Reason No. 5

4) Lorenzo Cain Figured Out What Pitchers Were Doing To Him

Lorenzo Cain has really been on a tear for most of May. He simply continued his performance over the last three games.

Though Cain went 0-3 on Wednesday, he still managed to get on base and score a run by drawing a walk. In the other two games, Cain belted six hits in 10 at bats, with 2 doubles, 3 RBIs, and 1 stolen base.

Reviewing the Brew

Yeah, that’s pretty good.

The three game Minnesota series boosted Cain’s season batting average from .277 on May 22, to .291 on May 25. Though the Twins snapped his six-game hitting streak (and his four game streak of more than one hit), he’s still seeing the ball well.

Earlier this month, Cain figured out that pitchers were pounding him down and away with fastballs just outside the strike zone. He adjusted by taking the ball the opposite way rather than attempting to pull. The result has been a steady climb throughout the month: Cain was hitting a horrible .220/.297/.293 on May 1, and is now posting a healthy .291/.346/.424 slash line on May 25 with 6 home runs and 25 RBIs.

Cain has shown his power breakthrough last season was no fluke and that he’ll remain a legit no. 3 hitter for some time to come.

Next: Reason No. 3

3) Whit Merrifield Arrived From AAA To Provide A Boost

The Kansas City Royals called up Whit Merrifield in the middle of their double-header last Wednesday against Boston. However, the versatile Merrifield really showed what he brings to the KC Royals in this series against Minnesota.

Merrifield started at third base, second base, and left field on consecutive days, while stroking two hits each day. Merrifield wasn’t just flaring weak singles either. Three of those six hits were doubles that showed off his solid gap power.

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Whit Merrified can play seven positions (he can’t play catcher), shows decent pop, and can run the bases. No wonder Ned Yost considered him the perfect bench player back in spring training .

Merrifield’s 6 for 10 series boosted his triple slash from a blah .250/.250/.250 on May 22, to a pretty impressive .333/.333/.500 on May 25. Of course, both of those numbers reflect a small sample size. Even so, Merrifield shows he possesses major-league skills that will help the KC Royals for years to come.

He really does look like a younger, faster Ben Zobrist. Merrifield probably doesn’t swing Zobrist’s stick, but he appears to have quite a long future ahead of him in major-league baseball simply because of his ability to play plus defense all over the field.

Next: Reason No. 2

2) Salvador Perez Loves Target Field

Salvador Perez entered Wednesday’s game hitting a ridiculous .370/.385/.636 at Target Field over 40 games in his career. That .636 slugging percentage is the highest of ANY player at Target Field.

Frankly, Salvador Perez owns the place. If the Twins somehow manage to acquire him, they’ll end up changing their home park’s name to Salvador Perez Field.

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For some reason, Salvador Perez just seems to see the ball well there—and hit the bejeezus out of it. Perez has slammed 10 home runs, 1 triple, and 9 doubles at Target Field for 27 RBIs in 40 games. Project that out to a full season, and he’d post power numbers of 36 doubles, 40 home runs, 4 triples, and 108 RBIs.

Yeah. I’d like to see that.

If only we could somehow turn everywhere in major-league baseball into Target Field. I guess that’s why KC Royals hitting coach Dale Sveum get’s paid the big bucks. It’s his job to figure such things out.

Next: Reason No. 1

1) Losing Alex Gordon And Mike Moustakas Was Actually Beneficial (for one series)

Yes, Alex Gordon and Mike Moustakas are All-Stars who have the skills to play in the game again this season. However, neither have been playing well recently.

Though Gordon has still been performing up to his Platinum Glove standard in left field, he simply hasn’t gotten going yet at the plate. Gordon is slashing a miserable .211/.319/.331 in 2016. That’s just not helping the offense.

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Meanwhile, Mike Moustakas came out of the gate strong the first month of the season. But, he’s suffered through an 0-7 slump after returning from the 15-day disabled list last Saturday. Yes, the KC Royals need to get both Gordon and Moustakas going. However, in the short-term the Kansas City Royals offense appeared better off without them.

Gordon’s injury has opened the door for manager Ned Yost to insert the crazy hot Paulo Orlando into the lineup on a full-time basis. Orlando responded to the opportunity by going 6-12 in the three games in Minnesota, boosting his season batting average to .397. Yesterday, he was hitting .406 before going 1 for 4 on Wednesday.

No matter. Orlando still kept his nine-game hitting streak alive (Perez has a team-leading 11 game hitting streak). Meanwhile, Whit Merrifield and Cheslor Cuthbert have replaced Moose at third base. While Cuth hasn’t been anything special over the last three games (1 for 8), we all know about what Merrifield has done (see slide 3).

Next: KC Drops The Broom In Minnesota

Let’s just hope the KC Royals offensive uprising isn’t just a temporary rally before facing the White Sox the next four days at Kauffman Stadium.