The Kansas City Royals need just about everything to break their way for the rest of the season.
Entering play on Wednesday, the Royals are three games back of the Seattle Mariners for the final American League wild card spot. Even if they take two of three from Seattle at Kauffman Stadium in September, they’ll still need to make up two more games, and the Mariners have the easier schedule.
Tuesday night’s win over the Chicago White Sox was a good first step, as the Royals erased a 4-0 deficit entering the eighth inning to win 5-4. Ironically, the part of the roster that won the Royals the game is the same part that’s been holding them back most of the season.
The rally on Tuesday was capped off by huge RBI singles from Michael Massey, who entered the game late as a pinch-hitter, and light-hitting center fielder Kyle Isbel. They’re going to need a lot more of that spunk from the bottom of their order the rest of the way.
Appropriately enough, Jim Bowden of The Athletic named his “biggest concern” for each playoff contender on Wednesday, and sure enough, the Royals’ lack of lineup depth was at the front of the insider’s mind.
“Offense has been the Royals’ main issue all season. They rank 26th in runs scored and 26th in home runs. The top of the lineup is solid with Bobby Witt Jr., Maikel Garcia, Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez, but the rest of the lineup needs to produce more runs if the Royals are going to return to the playoffs,” Bowden wrote.
“Their trade deadline acquisitions of Mike Yastrzemski, Adam Frazier and Randal Grichuk have helped, but will it be enough? They have the strong pitching and defense needed to play in October, but offensive questions remain.”
The Royals rank dead last in OPS by No. 6 hitters (.537) and No. 7 hitters (.572). They’re 19th in OPS for No. 8 hitters (.640), and somehow have the sixth-best No. 9 hitters (.688).
Put that recipe together, and you still have a bottom of the order that clearly isn’t pulling its weight, and it’s on guys like Massey, Isbel, Frazier, Jonathan India, and Nick Loftin to get things turned in the right direction.
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