Five Keys to Kansas City Royals Winning Series Versus Minnesota

No. 1 Bottom-of-the-Order Production

When the Kansas City Royals broke through with five consecutive hits in the sixth inning on Wednesday, it was the bottom of the order that started the rally.

Alcides Escobar and Alex Gordon—the eighth and ninth batters in the order—hit consecutive doubles to begin the inning and chase Matt Boyd. The top of the order kept things going, but who knows what would have happened if Escobar and Gordon were retired to start the frame.

Production from anybody south of Mike Moustakas in the order has been spotty all season. But if this team is going to threaten for a playoff spot, the Kansas City Royals need more consistency out of their bottom-third.

On Thursday, the bottom three in the order will be Escobar, Gordon and Ramon Torres. With Moustakas nursing a knee injury (more on that in a minute), Torres will get the start at third base.

Regardless of who makes up the seven through nine spots in the order—be it Brandon Moss, Jorge Bonifacio or Jorge Soler, for that matter—there needs to be more production. A major league lineup can not afford to have that big of a dead space.

Hopefully, that will be corrected during Minnesota’s visit to The K.