Royals' postseason odds look increasingly insurmountable after dreadful cold-stretch

After the Kansas City Royals ended the month of August and opened the month of September on a three-game losing streak, their postseason odds looked extremely long at 7.5% with less than month to play, according to FanGraphs.

They'd quickly make up for their scuffle though, erasing their three-game losing streak with an equally long winning streak. After a commanding 11-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday, Kansas City vaulted their playoff odds up to 18.6%. Not a sterling mark by any means, but certainly a lot more palatable than 7.5% odds.

But I guess three-game streaks come in threes, because after erasing one three-game losing skid this month, the Royals have found themselves losing three straight games once again, having been shutout on Tuesday by the Cleveland Guardians 2-0, after narrowly avoiding being no-hit by them the night prior.

In the process the Royals are now faced with some of the longest odds at October that they've received this year, sitting at 3.0% entering Wednesday's series-salvaging contest.

Royals postseason odds withering away with amid latest cold streak

This two-week stretch was always going to be challenging for the Royals, given the fact they're set to face four consecutive postseason contenders.

However, their offensive approach this week has been brutal to watch, as they've followed up a one-run display against the rebuilding Twins on Sunday by scoring just two runs on eight hits in their first two games combined against Cleveland.

They've allowed starters to pitch into the eighth inning back-to-back nights now, while failing to support their own team's pitching masterclasses, such as rookie Noah Cameron's excellent seven inning effort on Tuesday.

Their offense has always been a question mark and has had plenty of cold-streaks. However, scoring three runs or less in nine of their last 11 games down the stretch might be a new low.

And now it's put them in as deep a hole as they've been in of late, with only a 3.0% chance of clinching a Wild Card berth and now less than three weeks to try and attempt a miraculous climb out of it.

Now, hope is not lost for the Royals as there are still feasible ways they could rebound from this point of arguable hopelessness. If they can take the final two games of their current four-game set with Cleveland, they'll restore the 0.5 game that they had over them entering this week.

Then of course, they have a three-game home series to start the week against the team that the entire Wild Card field is chasing right now in the Seattle Mariners.

That being said, while it's not impossible, the Royals cannot afford to give up any more ground, because another hiccup when margins are already razor thin could close their door to October completely.