KC Royals Are Ready For Sprint To The Finish Line

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Aug 21, 2016; Kansas City, MO, USA; The KC Royals celebrate after defeating and sweeping the Minnesota Twins at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports /

Nineteen. After a historically bad 7-19 July, the Royals have rattled off 19 wins in the month of August with still three games to play. The hottest team in baseball this month, Kansas City is officially back in the playoff hunt for a fourth-consecutive season.

Many things have changed since July 31, when Kansas City sat at 49-55, 12 games back from division-leading Cleveland. The Indians have struggled to a 13-14 record in August, and second-place Detroit has done little better at 12-13. At 19-7, the Royals have cut 6.5 games off the division lead in just 28 days.

Pitching has everything to do with it. In July, Kansas City’s pitchers ranked 28^th out of 30 teams with a 5.27 ERA. Entering Monday’s series with the New York Yankees, the Royals were tied with Chicago Cubs with the best August ERA at 2.54. The Pittsburgh Pirates, with a 3.19 ERA this month, is a distant third.

Notice that both the Pirates and Cubs play in the National League where the pitchers hit. The closest American League club is the Detroit Tigers, with a 3.49 ERA.

It’s certainly a far cry from July, in which the KC Royals pitchers got rocked for a 4.91 ERA.

Kansas City has had great production out of both its starters and its bullpen. So far this month, Brian Flynn, Matt Strahm, and Chris Young have combined to throw 31.1 scoreless innings. From Aug. 10 to Aug. 26, the bullpen threw 41.1 consecutive scoreless innings to set a new franchise record. No bullpen had accomplished that feat in 50 years.

Next: The Rotation

Aug 28, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; KC Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura (30) delivers a pitch during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /

Rotation Has Stepped Up In August

Ian Kennedy has been lights out in August with a 3-0 record and 1.11 ERA in five starts. Minus Saturday’s loss against Boston, Danny Duffy has continued his brilliance to inch his way into the Cy Young conversation.

Even after allowing seven earned runs in just five innings Saturday, Duffy’s ERA for the month hovers at a paltry 2.51. Yordano Ventura also has a sub-three ERA at 2.55 in the month of August.

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Overall, the rotation has posted a 3.08 ERA in August, which is second best in major-league baseball behind the Chicago Cubs. More innings from the starters has helped take pressure off the bullpen, which is missing Luke Hochevar and Wade Davis.

The good news for Royals fans is that Cleveland’s starters are headed in the opposite direction. In his five starts this month, Josh Tomlin is 0-5 with a 10.80 ERA. Even worse, Danny Salazar has lost three of his four starts with an ERA of 12.41. Trevor Bauer and Carlos Carrasco have a combined 4-5 record in 11 starts this month, and Bauer has the better ERA at 4.85. Corey Kluber has been the exception with a 4-0 record and 2.20 ERA in his five starts.

The Kansas City Royals starting five will need to continue their recent dominance to make a run at the post-season. They can’t revert back to their horrendous June and July in which they suffered with problems giving up the gopher ball. If they can keep the ball in the yard, the KC Royals have a great chance to play deep into October.

Next: The Schedule

Aug 28, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; KC Royals catcher Salvador Perez (13) dumps the powerade bucket on first baseman Eric Hosmer (35) after defeating the Boston Red Sox 10-4 at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports /

Royals Favorable Schedule In September

Baseball is hard to predict and anything can happen in September, but August should have provided plenty of optimism for Royals fans. Baseball is headed for a wild finish as league foes go head-to-head in the final month of the season.