As the Kansas City Royals face the current reality of a 3.0 game deficit with Seattle Mariners for the final AL Wild Card spot, they also need to deal with a challenging schedule ahead of them.
The Royals are in the midst of their first of four consecutive series against current postseason contenders, with arguably the toughest of the bunch slated for this upcoming weekend when the they’ll head to Philadelphia for a three-game series against the 84-win Phillies.
They’ve unfortunately seen first hand just how hard this two-week stretch can be after they were annihilated by the Cleveland Guardians on Monday night. However, as hard as Monday’s loss was they did also receive some news that day that could make things a little easier for them in their upcoming series against the Phillies.
Philadelphia announced Monday that they’d placed both Trea Turner and Alec Bohm on the 10-day IL, leaving them without their left side of the infield for the next little while.
Royals will see a weakened Phillies lineup in upcoming weekend series
Even without the likes of Turner and Bohm, the Phillies still have a loaded roster that cannot be taken lightly.
However, adding a pair of lineup regulars to an injured list that already included their ace in Zach Wheeler is not an ideal situation for the fighting Phills.
It will though, certainly be advantageous to the Royals and their depleted pitching staff, who after Michael Wacha hit the concussion IL is now without four of it’s Opening Day starting five.
Turner is certainly the biggest loss of the injured duo, as he’s likely set to receive NL MVP consideration when the season concludes.
The shortstop is currently nipping at Bobby Witt Jr.’s heels in the MLB fWAR leaderboard, ranking fourth with a 6.7 mark. In 140 games this season, Turner is slashing .305/.356/.458 with 15 HR, 69 RBI, 36 SB and a 125 wRC+.
Then there’s Bohm, who’s 1.1 fWAR pales in comparison to Turner’s near 7.0 total, however he’s certainly played his role in this NL East-leading offense.
While it’s been a bit of down-year for Bohm, in 111 games the third baseman has still managed to play his part. He’s hit .272 with 51 RBI, a .703 OPS and near-average 94 wRC+. In a lineup featuring the likes of Turner, Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber and J.T. Realmuto, there isn’t a need for him to be an absolute superstar, rather he just has to be productive, which he has to a ceryain degree this season.
Then, on top of not having to face Wheeler, the Royals inconsistent offense will also get a bit of boost, as they’ll benefit from likely not having to face either Cristopher Sánchez or Jesús Luzardo this weekend, as both are slated to go for the second two games of their current series against the Mets.
Still, with a starting staff that has accumulated a 3.9 cumulative fWAR lead across to top the major league leaderboard, while also sitting top three in ERA, FIP, K/9 and BB/9, the Royals scuffling bats will definitely have their hands full regardless of who they see.
Then there’s always the earlier point of a star-studded lineup still facing the Royals even without the likes of Turner or Bohm. So, to say they still have tough task ahead of them is an understatement.
These two will square-off for the first time on Friday, with first-pitch at Citizens Bank Park slated for 5:45 p.m. CT.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source kingsofkauffman.com ’
