KC Royals Are Ready For Sprint To The Finish Line

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.

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The Royals will play 22 games against division rivals, 24 games if the two October games against Cleveland are included. Kansas City is 11-2 against Minnesota this season and will see the Twins six times down the stretch. The Royals are 9-3 against the White Sox with six games coming in September.

Of Kansas City’s final 32 games, 20 will come at Kauffman Stadium where the Royals are an outstanding 40-21 record.

Obviously, the two big series will be with Cleveland and Detroit. Kansas City is 9-4 against the Tigers this year with six more games on the way. Cleveland has a 33-17 record against division foes this season (9-3 against Chicago, 11-1 against Detroit, 8-5 against Kansas City, and 5-8 against Minnesota). The Royals will play the Indians in the final three games of the regular season.

The KC Royals also catch a break by getting a series against a bad Oakland team as well as AL Central weaklings Chicago and Minnesota.

Teams from other divisions will be playing similarly unbalanced schedules. Heading into Monday, Toronto held a two-game edge over Boston in a competitive AL East. Boston and Baltimore are both ahead of Kansas City in the wild card standings, and New York is just half a game behind the Royals. As difficult as it may be, Royals fans can root for Toronto and Tampa Bay to dominate that division to push those eastern teams out of playoff contention.

A lot still has to happen for Kansas City to find a way into the playoffs. The Royals can control their own destiny if they just stay hot. Over the last 10 games, Kansas City is 8-2. Houston is the only other team in the majors with seven wins over the last 10 games.

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

Had the Royals simply gone .500 in July, the conversation would be very different heading into September. Even with that terrible month, the Boys in Blue are once again proving they can never be counted out. Will they have the endurance to sprint to the finish?