Kansas City Royals: Fifth Postseason Picture Update

The Kansas City Royals needed a big weekend in Minnesota to remain relevant in the Wild Card chase. They got it with a pair of wins. Here’s how the postseason picture looks heading into Monday’s action.

It’s still hard to comprehend how a Kansas City Royals team that has suffered losses of 12-0, 12-0 and 17-0 in the same calendar week could be right in the thick of the postseason push.

But this is 2017, and that’s what 2017 does. It takes everything you thought you knew about what makes a playoff team and turns it upside down.

There’s a reason the four American League teams that are—more or less—solidly in the playoff field are there. It’s because of their starting pitching.

Cleveland has Corey Kluber and a stable full of other arms. New York has Luis Severino, C.C. Sabathia and Sonny Gray leading a strong rotation. Houston has Dallas Keuchel and Lance McCullers, while also adding Justin Verlander. Boston has Chris Sale and Drew Pomeranz, as well as former Cy Young Award winners Rick Porcello and David Price—although they’ve struggled mightily this season.

The teams left battling for the final playoff spot struggle in that department. Whatever team gets the most out of its starters the rest of the season will likely head to Yankee Stadium for the Wild Card Game.

A New Addition

Chicago White Sox

Overall record (through Sunday): 54-81

Last week: 2-4

This week: Vs. Cleveland (Mon.-Thu.); vs. San Francisco Giants (Fri.-Sun.)

The White Sox put up little resistance in a midweek sweep by the Twins. Chicago did give the Kansas City Royals an assist with a pair of wins over the Rays during the weekend.

Sunday’s game showcased possible 2018 ace Lucas Giolito. The right-hander struck out 10 while giving up just one run on three hits over seven frames. This team has taken its lumps over the last month or so, but the White Sox will be a team to reckon with in the coming years.

Oakland Athletics

Overall record (through Sunday): 58-78

Last week: 0-6

This week: Vs. Los Angeles Angels (Mon.-Wed.); off Thursday; vs. Houston Astros (Fri.-Sun., includes doubleheader Saturday from April 16 rainout)

Oakland did absolutely nothing to help the Kansas City Royals and a majority of the teams in the Wild Card hunt. The Athletics did do the Angels and Mariners a favor by taking six losses this week in their six games against their West Division opponents.

Los Angeles is probably more than happy to have three more games against Oakland this week. The Athletics were the only winless team in the American League last week. In fact, they were the only team with fewer than two victories in what was a generally balanced week.

Detroit Tigers

Overall record (through Sunday): 58-78

Last week: 2-5

This week: Vs. Kansas City Royals (Mon.-Wed.); off Thursday; at Toronto (Fri.-Sun.)

Detroit’s weekend series against Cleveland illustrated two things: Detroit is quite bad and Cleveland is quite good. The amount of each that determined the four-game sweep will be better known this week.

The Kansas City Royals come to town for three games beginning with a Monday afternoon tilt. Gone are many of the Tigers who defined this team over the past several years, meaning the Royals should fully expect a second straight series win.

Toronto Blue Jays

Overall record (through Sunday): 63-74

Last week: 2-5

This week: At Boston Red Sox (Mon.-Wed.); off Thursday; vs. Detroit Tigers (Fri.-Sun.)

The Blue Jays joined an exclusive group this week. Toronto falls into the same category as Chicago, Oakland and Detroit, as teams that will almost certainly not make the playoffs.

It’s not a group anyone wants to be a part of, especially a team like the Blue Jays. Toronto had high aspirations entering the season and didn’t do an adequate job of off-loading pieces at the trade deadline. Unlike the White Sox, this team could be in for a painful rebuild.

Trying to Stay Afloat

Tampa Bay Rays

Overall record (through Sunday): 68-70

Last week: 3-3

This week: Vs. Minnesota Twins (Mon.-Wed.); off Thursday; at Boston Red Sox (Fri.-Sun.)

Tampa Bay started off well last week with a pair of road wins over the Kansas City Royals. However, a poor showing (one win) against the White Sox see the Rays fall to the bottom of the heap of teams chasing the Twins. And last week was their easy one.

This week sees three tough games against Minnesota and three more against a struggling-but-potent Boston squad. If Tampa Bay hasn’t joined Toronto & Co. on the season-is-basically-over slide when we do our sixth update, the Rays would have to consider the week at least a partial success.

Kansas City Royals

Overall record (through Sunday): 67-68

Last week: 3-3

This week: At Detroit Tigers (Mon.-Wed.); vs. Minnesota Twins (Thu.-Sun.)

After an up-and-down week that saw losses of 12-0 and 17-0, the Kansas City Royals finished on a high note with a series win over Minnesota. The 5-4 win on Sunday kept the Royals within 3.5 games of the Twins.

This is a week of two incredibly different series for the Kansas City Royals. On the one hand, the Tigers are a team that has seemingly given up on this season. A sweep should be a very realistic goal, but there is no excuse for not winning the series.

What follows is a monumental series against Minnesota. While winning that four-game set would be great, the goal for the weekend should be damage limitation. A split—assuming a series win happened in Detroit—would be sufficient to keep the Kansas City Royals alive.

We’ll see where they land come next Monday.

Texas Rangers

Overall record (through Sunday): 68-68

Last week: 4-2

This week: At Atlanta Braves (Mon.-Wed.); off Thursday; vs. New York Yankees (Fri.-Sun.)

The Rangers bounced back from a, frankly, embarrassing sweep by the Athletics the last weekend in August to earn a pair of series wins this past week. Texas took two of three against Houston (in Tampa Bay) and at home against Los Angeles. The series with the Angels, though, underscored why this team will struggle to stay in the Wild Card race going forward.

Pitching at the backend of the bullpen is an adventure every outing. On Friday, the Rangers gave up three runs in the seventh and two in the eighth to blow a 9-4 lead before scoring in the bottom of the eighth to get the win. The next night, Texas allowed two runs in the ninth to send the game to extras and lost after it allowed three in the 10th. On Sunday, a 7-3 lead was cut to 7-6 in the ninth inning before the Rangers escaped.

That’s not the recipe to earn a postseason spot, and an injury Adrian Beltre won’t help matters.

Right on Their Tail

Seattle Mariners

Overall record (through Sunday): 69-68

Last week: 4-2

This week: Vs. Houston Astros (Mon.-Wed.); off Thursday; vs. Los Angeles Angels (Fri.-Sun.)

After a tough sweep at the hands of the Orioles, the Mariners took advantage of an Athletics team with nothing to play for in 2017 to earn a three-game sweep over the weekend. The schedule is not as kind this week to Seattle.

The week starts with three games against an Astros team that has shown glimpses of its former self recently. After what could be a key day off, the Mariners host the Angels in a massive series.

This week continues a ridiculous stretch of West Division games for Seattle. The Mariners won’t face a non-division foe until Cleveland on Sept. 22-24. Remarkably, those are the only games for the Mariners against a team not named the Astros, Rangers, A’s or Angels the rest of the season.

Baltimore Orioles

Overall record (through Sunday): 70-67

Last week: 5-2

This week: Vs. New York Yankees (Mon.-Wed.); off Thursday; at Cleveland (Fri.-Sun.)

The Orioles turned a week full of potential wins into a 5-2 record. That’s pretty solid, but after sweeping the Mariners, they probably expected more than a split with Toronto in a four-game weekend set.

Baltimore has as tough a schedule as anyone in the American League this coming week. The Yankees visit the Charm City for three games to start the week, and Baltimore travels to Cleveland for three to finish it.

Six games against two of the four teams that are solidly in the playoffs? That’s a tough ask for a streaky team hoping to make another late push.

Los Angeles Angels

Overall record (through Sunday): 70-67

Last week: 4-2

This week: At Oakland Athletics (Mon.-Wed.); off Thursday; at Seattle Mariners (Fri.-Sun.)

Having just swept Oakland this past week, Los Angeles will be more than happy to see the Athletics on the schedule again. A few solid showings in the Bay Area could put the Angels in a good position heading into a weekend series at the Mariners.

The Angels showed this past week that they were going all-in in the chase for the second Wild Card slot. The team added Justin Upton and Brandon Phillips in trades that should just add to an already hot offense. However, the moves failed to address Los Angeles’ real issues.

Starting pitching and the bullpen both have been inconsistent this season. The team has allowed 33 runs over its past four games. If it wasn’t for some late rallies in Texas, Los Angeles would have been swept by the Rangers. It’s still hard to see a pitching staff this bad making the postseason.

AL second wild card spot

Minnesota Twins

Overall record (through Sunday): 71-65

Last week: 4-2

This week: At Tampa Bay Rays (Mon.-Wed.); at Kansas City Royals (Thu.-Sun.)

The Twins had a golden opportunity to knock the Kansas City Royals out of the Wild Card race this past weekend and failed to do so. They will feel that was a missed opportunity that can’t be repeated.

This week presents two more chances for Minnesota to virtually eliminate a couple of its playoff challengers. First comes a road trip to Tampa Bay and then a trip to Kansas City with another chance to dent the Royals’ postseason hopes.

Minnesota’s formula hasn’t changed much over the course of this season. The Twins have consistently had an offense that puts up tons of runs, as showcased by 17 runs in a Saturday win over the Kansas City Royals. But this team will only go as far as its pitching will carry it. Ervin Santana, who has easily been the team’s best starter this season, had a solid showing on Sunday afternoon, but his bullpen let him down.

Even still, the Twins are undoubtedly the team to beat in the chase for the second Wild Card spot—and not just because they currently hold the position. We’ll see if they can turn that into a postseason bid.

AL first wild card spot

New York Yankees

Overall record (through Sunday): 73-63

Last week: 3-4

This week: At Baltimore Orioles (Mon.-Wed.); off Thursday; at Texas Rangers (Fri.-Sun.)

The Yankees are in a strange position at the moment. They are simultaneously trying to catch the Red Sox in the East Division, while also attempting to keep the Twins from catching them in the race for the American League’s first Wild Card spot.

It’s a tricky place to be in, but an envious one for several teams. A sweep at the hands of red-hot Cleveland put New York in a precarious situation heading into the weekend. Not only did the Yankees face a tough test with the Red Sox visiting for four games, but elsewhere the Twins hosted the Kansas City Royals for three key contests.

If things fell a certain way, New York would have been behind Minnesota this week. The Yankees can thank themselves first and foremost for that not happening, as the team took three of four from the Red Sox. But New York also owes the Kansas City Royals a debt of gratitude for allowing the Yankees to earn a bit of breathing space.

This week should be easier for New York, but the schedule still isn’t ideal. Trips to Wild Card hopefuls Baltimore and Texas will prove to be nice tests for a team gearing up for a postseason run.

AL Central leader

Cleveland

Overall record (through Sunday): 80-56

Last week: 7-0

This week: At Chicago White Sox (Mon.-Thu.); vs. Baltimore Orioles (Fri.-Sun.)

There is no hotter team in baseball than the club in Cleveland—although Arizona is a close second. Not only did the team have the only perfect week in the American League, Cleveland was the only team with fewer than two losses.

After sweeping the Kansas City Royals the final weekend in August, Cleveland roped off seven more victories this week to run its winning streak to 11 games. (The team also beat Boston the day before Kansas City came to town.)

It was still a strange week for Cleveland. When you see they went 7-0, you probably assumed it was one win each day of the week. That was hardly the case. Here’s how it actually went:

• Monday: One win over Yankees
• Tuesday: Rainout
• Wednesday: DH sweep of Yankees
• Thursday: Scheduled day off
• Friday: Scheduled DH sweep of Tigers
• Saturday: One win over Tigers
• Sunday: One win over Tigers

That makes Cleveland’s winning streak even more impressive. It could also lead to some fatigue. The team does not have a day off again until Sept. 18. Before it reaches that point, Cleveland will play four games against the White Sox, three against the Orioles, three against the Tigers and four against the Royals.

Cleveland has the Central Division in the bag and just passed Boston in the race for home-field advantage. Houston is within reach, but having 14 games over the next 14 days might be asking too much—even of this outstanding team.

AL West leader

Houston Astros

Overall record (through Sunday): 83-53

Last week: 4-2

This week: At Seattle Mariners (Mon.-Wed.); off Thursday; at Oakland Athletics (Fri.-Sun., includes doubleheader Saturday from April 16 rainout)

Houston began last week not knowing where it would play during the week. The Astros ultimately played the Rangers in Tampa Bay before returning home for an emotional sweep of the Mets.

It was great for the city of Houston and its residents for the team to be able to play a few games in town over the weekend. (Friday’s game was postponed and made into a doubleheader Saturday.) However, it was also great for the team to be able to return home for several reasons.

The biggest baseball-related reason the return is helpful is because the Astros next nine games come on the road. The next scheduled game in Houston doesn’t come until Sept. 15 against Seattle.

The Astros also made the big trade they failed to make late in August in landing Verlander. The former Detroit ace landed with Houston at the end of August and is scheduled to make his Astros debut on Tuesday.

With the additions of Verlander and outfielder Cameron Maybin, Houston will likely have little problem finishing as one of the top two teams in the American League—thus securing home-field advantage in the Division Series. However, the question remains whether Houston can hold off Cleveland for the AL’s top overall spot.

Next: How Did the Playoff Picture Change from Last Week?

But given everything that has transpired in Houston (and its surrounding areas) recently, that’s a small—borderline insignificant—problem to have. And, regardless, this team will be a tough out in the postseason.