3 key things need to happen before July for the KC Royals

The Royals need to win their series with Cleveland

Even without ace starting pitcher Shane Bieber, who's lost for the season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery in April, the Guardians are the class of the AL Central. Owners of first place for the bulk of the campaign, they're 44-25 heading into Tuesday's play and show no signs of letting up significantly.

They are, however, preparing for a challenging run of their own; it doesn't look as tough as the one the Royals just survived, but it won't be easy. The nine games the Guardians play before arriving in Kansas City at the end of the month include only three with a sub-.500 team (Toronto) before they host a three-game series with AL West leader Seattle, then move on to Baltimore for three with the Orioles, who at 47-24 are only 1.5 games behind the first-place Yankees in the AL East.

Even if Cleveland craters during that nine-game span, it remains incumbent upon the Royals to dominate when its chief Central rival visits The K to close out June. Anything less than winning three of four means a golden opportunity missed.

And that could hurt Kansas City as June turns into July.

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