KC Royals show signs of life at the plate after latest lineup rearrangement

The Kansas City Royals' entered Saturday afternoon on a six-game losing streak with a lineup performing at horribly ineffective levels. In that stretch they held the second lowest wRC+ in the league during that span, as a result of a .179/.263/.277 team slash line with just 11 runs to their name.

Other than Bobby Witt Jr. and his lengthy hitting streak (which he extended to 13 games on Sunday), there wasn't a ton to be jazzed about with this team offensively, if anything.

But ahead of Sunday's series finale against the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers, manager Matt Quatraro decided to switch things up in the batting order.

And the tweaks saw the Royals show a glimmer of hope at the dish right off the bat, with some vital contributors coming up big in major spots, as the team finally snapped their losing skid and ended their long road-trip on a positive note.

KC Royals latest lineup rearrangement makes an immediate impact

The most notable adjustment to the lineup was dropping Vinnie Pasquantino to seventh in the order. He traditionally hit third, right after Witt, but time and time again this season, Witt had been getting on base and the rest of the order had been squandering the chance to make the most of his elite hitting prowess.

Pasquantino had hit in three-hole all season up until this point and only managed a .192/.264/.333 slash line. But in his first at-bat in his new spot through the order, he came to the plate with a pair of runners in scoring position, extended the strike zone and promptly deposited a Tarik Skubal offering into center field for an RBI-single, that gave the Royals the early lead.

Pasquantino's efforts would set the table for other struggling bats in the bottom of the order to capitalize on the RBI opportunities in front of them. Drew Waters the main beneficiary, as he rewarded the Royals brass for giving him an extended look in the major leagues even after Mark Canha returned from the IL, by cashing in a run with a base-hit of his own, extending the Royals early lead to two runs.

Speaking of Canha, with Pasquantino moving down in the lineup, Salvador Perez moved up to third and Canha took over the clean-up duties in his anticipated return to the lineup - his first appearance in the four-hole this season. He managed to have a 2-for-4 day in his new spot, delivering a crucial game-tying RBI base knock in the top of the eighth inning in the process.

Now, it's still pre-mature to say that the offense is officially back. Four runs is hardly a major offensive outburst, their nine hits were all singles and Salvador Perez went 0-for-5 despite his move in the order.

But the Royals need to take the small victories where they can get them, both figuratively and literally, and today felt like one of those scenarios that they can hopefully build on moving forward.