KC Royals: 5 Things KC Must Do To Sneak Into Post-Season

1. Starters Need To Keep Dominating

The biggest reason for the KC Royals winning eight of their last 10 games is their starting pitching. The rotation has strung together a series of strong starts that has fueled Kansas City recent hot streak.

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Since the beginning of August, Kansas City Royals starters have posted a 3.05 ERA. That’s the third best mark in MLB, and second in the American League.

Danny Duffy has been fabulous since the beginning of June. After building up his arm to take enough pitches to last past the fifth inning, Duffy has gone 10-1 with a 2.58 ERA—that’s called domination folks.

The best part is that Danny Duffy is getting even better. Over his last four starts, Duffy has racked up four straight wins with a 1.15 ERA. Even better is that he’s averaged more than 7.2 innings per start.

Ian Kennedy has been just as dominant as Danny Duffy in recent weeks. In his last four games, Kennedy has fashioned a sparkling 1.04 ERA, but is only eating 6.5 innings per game.

The Rest Of The Rotation

Yordano Ventura hasn’t been overpowering opponents like Duffy and Kennedy, but he’s been consistently lasting deep into games while holding opponents to three runs or less. Ventura has a 3.35 ERA over that span while averaging 6.5 innings per game.

Edinson Volquez got bombed for seven earned runs in 5.0 innings on August 3, but has held opponents to six earned runs over his last 12 innings (two starts). Meanwhile, Dillon Gee notched his first quality start of the season by going 6.0 innings while allowing three runs on August 5 against Toronto. He also pitched two scoreless innings in KC’s 14 inning win against Chicago on August 10. However, Gee struggled in his last start on August 13—giving up five runs in a loss to Minnesota.

Next: KC Royals Bullpen Adjusting To New Roles

If the KC Royals can get more production out of the bottom of their rotation, it might make up for Duffy and Kennedy cooling off from their recent surges. As a result, the impending return of Mike Minor, Jason Vargas, and Kris Medlen could be the key to the Royals hopes for a miracle playoff run.