Kansas City Royals: Five Keys to Winning Rays Series

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?