KC Royals showcase textbook 'keep the line moving' mentality to stay red hot

They may not have made it easy on themselves, but this Kansas City Royals team continues to find ways to win, as Tuesday's walk-off victory over the White Sox gives them a 13-2 record in their last 15 games.

It was an all around performance in the victory, as Lugo only surrendered a pair of earned runs in 6 2/3 innings of work, the bullpen held their damage to just a single earned run, which kept the opportunity open for the offense to rally in the ninth.

And this offensive showing gave Royals fans fond memories of the 2014 AL pennant winning and 2015 World Series winning clubs and their ability to "keep the line moving" at the plate.

KC Royals showcase textbook 'keep the line moving' mentality in Tuesday's victory

As odd as it may sound, considering their opponent was the 10-win Chicago White Sox, this game had a real postseason vibe to it in the late innings.

After being thwarted in the seventh with a speedy runner in Maikel Garcia on second with just one out and then having to settle for just one run in the eighth, the ninth inning showcased just how resilient this offensive bunch can be.

Mark Canha came on as pinch hitter and looked every bit like the poised veteran presence he's been all season by not trying to do too much and coaxing out the free pass. Then it was Drew Waters, and as the saying goes; just put the ball in play. Waters did just that, as a Sox error meant everyone was safe. Freddy Fermin was next, and the Royals reliable backup catcher proved reliable once again, turning a perfectly placed sac-bunt into a bunt single to load the bases.

After a Kyle Isbel pop out, Jonathan India took the same approach as Waters and put one in play, resulting in the White Sox once again botching one defensively allowing the tying run to score. Then with Bobby Witt Jr. at the dish with the bases loaded and one out, it seemed like a forgone conclusion with how he's been playing lately that he'd come through, and he did just that with his game-winning single.

Errors, bunt singles and walks. Certainly not the most glamourous of ways to win a ball game, but those are the types of little things successful teams have to do squeak out wins sometimes.

Looking back to the early stages of this hot stretch, during the Royals doubleheader sweep of the Rockies on April 24, Salvador Perez provided the perfect quote to Anne Rogers of MLB.com, that even weeks later fits so well with the mentality the offense showed on Tuesday.

"You need to keep the line moving," Perez told Rogers that day. "Give what they give to me...if it's a walk, take the base and let the guy behind me do his job."

That's precisely what we saw here, unselfish baseball and taking what the opposition is giving you and rolling with it. For a Royals offense with numerous question marks still surrounding them, these are the types of opportunities they need to capitalize on, because every win counts in a tightly contested race in not just the AL Central, but the American League competitive landscape in general.