Kansas City Royals: Five Keys to Winning Rays Series

The Kansas City Royals are looking to bounce back from a horrendous weekend. They get their chance against the Rays. Here’s what the Royals need to do to lock up a series win at The K.

The Tampa Bay Rays enter Monday’s game at Kauffman Stadium in the midst of a good run. The Kansas City Royals do not.

The Rays opened the month of August with an incredible three-game sweep of the Astros. Tampa Bay then proceeded to lose 12 of its next 16 games before rebounding last week.

Meanwhile, the Royals are still looking for their good August form. They only have three games to find it before September comes. Without a solid showing during this abbreviated three-game homestand, the Kansas City Royals will be hard-pressed to fight their way up the Wild Card standings over the final month of the season.

The team’s pitching, particularly the bullpen, was to blame for most of the August struggles. However, this past weekend showed that the offense still has a way to go to be a playoff-caliber unit.

Here’s a current look at the offense:

via GIPHY

Things clearly need to change for the Kansas City Royals to make a postseason push. Check out our five keys to taking that next step and winning this series with Tampa Bay.

No. 1 Forget About the Cleveland Series

We can all just pretend the scoreless weekend in Cleveland never happened, right? Or that’s at least the hope for the Kansas City Royals.

Professional athletes need to have the ability to brush off tough losses and get mentally ready for the next game. It’s especially important for baseball players with the next game likely coming just a day later.

That being said, you have to hope the Kansas City Royals left Cleveland with a clean slate and view the upcoming series with Tampa Bay as a new start. It can’t be easy for the team to shake off a 35-inning scoreless drought, of which the players are more than acutely aware.

The team is essentially where it started the season. The Kansas City Royals are 64-65, so it’s not a reach to view Monday’s game as the start of a new season. Starting at 0-0 (or even 0-1 for those people)  is a great way to approach the remainder of the season, because the Royals are far from eliminated in the Wild Card chase.

As the old Taylor Swift (RIP) once said, the players are gonna play (play, play, play, play) and the haters are gonna hate (hate, hate, hate, hate). So the Kansas City Royals need to just “Shake it off.”

No. 3 Figure Out the Bullpen

Defined roles in the bullpen are as follows: Kelvin Herrera is the closer. That’s it. He’s the only one with a set role.

With Joakim Soria on the disabled list, there is no set-up man. Will that still be the case when he returns, or has Ned Yost decided everything else will be determined by matchup?

Things are always going to be subject to change. There is no getting around that, but it cannot be easy for bullpen guys to mentally prepare for situations when they have no frame of reference.

Did Mike Minor know before Thursday’s game that he might face a few of Colorado’s left-handed hitters even if they came up with nobody on in the eighth inning? We don’t know. If not, that’s a heck of a position to put him in.

It can’t be easy for Yost with a majority of the bullpen seemingly unable to put up zeros for the better part of the second half. I mean, if Brandon Maurer was pitching his best it’s not hard to see him taking over the eighth-inning role—with or without Soria’s injury.

But Maurer and many of his bullpen mates have not pitched well of late. Overuse is one obvious factor. Reinforcements should be on the way soon. Brian Flynn was added to the roster Monday, as Eric Skoglund, who got blasted in his spot start on Sunday, was sent to Triple-A Omaha.

More arms will make their way to Kansas City when rosters expand in September, and that might be the key to fixing the bullpen.

No. 4 Change the Lineup

This one will not happen on Monday. The Kansas City Royals have already released the lineup for that game:

It’s a sadly predictable lineup that needs to be adjusted. Having a consistent lineup is great when things are going well, but a shake up in the order can sometimes be a good way to motivate some guys.

Kansas City Royals

There isn’t one perfect lineup that Yost just refuses to acknowledge, but there are plenty of little tweaks that could be done.

Maybe switching Lorenzo Cain and Melky Cabrera? The Melk Man has started hitting into double-plays every chance he gets. Whit Merrifield seems fine with running, and Cain has suddenly abandoned that part of his game.

How about moving Mike Moustakas higher in the order? The man who is set to break the franchise’s single-season home run record has hit sixth for much of the season. Maybe move him up, at least to fifth over a grimacing Salvador Perez or even to third and swap him with Cabrera.

Yost could even try dropping Alex Gordon to the bench. Like actually benching him this time. I know Jorge Bonifacio has struggled, but, at this moment, he looks to be more a part of the Kansas City Royals’ future than Gordon.

Just a little tinkering with the batting order could spark something that manifests itself into a solid 10-game stretch. What’s the worst thing that could happen, three scoreless games in a row?

No. 5 Enjoy Some Home Cooking

The Kansas City Royals should brace for a lot of cheering when they finally score their next run. A lot of it will be genuine, but there will be a portion (how large will depend on when it finally comes) that is sarcastic.

Royals fans are some of the best in baseball when it comes to recognizing greatness at games. The standing ovation given to Miguel Cabrera when he clinched the Triple Crown was incredible. The returns to Kansas City by Jarrod Dyson and Greg Holland this year also induced goosebumps.

But they aren’t above letting their team know when they need to improve.

Beyond the obvious benefits to playing at home, the Kansas City Royals have the home-road split to prove the advantage. The Royals have a 35-30 mark at home and a 29-35 record away from Kauffman Stadium. If you think that kind of split happens with every team, just check out Minnesota.

The Twins, who lead the race for the second Wild Card spot, have virtually the opposite records. In Minnesota, they are 31-35. On the road, they have a 36-28 mark. If they end up heading to New York for the Wild Card game, they won’t be too upset.

With only nine home games between Monday and September 25, the Kansas City Royals need to cherish each home game they have left. And with an offseason of turmoil ahead, the team’s fans should too.

Next: Royals Postseason Outlook

What do you fans think? How many games (if any) will the Kansas City Royals win during this brief homestand? Let us know your thoughts in the comments and on social media.