The Kansas City Royals haven’t gotten the start they wanted this season. They’re already eight games back in the division, which puts them in a tough spot early on.
Last week didn’t help much, starting with a road trip against the Washington Nationals. That Washington offense has been one of the best in baseball right now, and it showed. They outscored Kansas City 15-13 over three games, taking two of three from the Royals.
Kansas City bounced back in their next series against the St. Louis Cardinals, though. The Cardinals have been playing solid ball this season, but the Royals were ready for them. They put up 14 runs on Thursday alone and took the series 2-1.
That 3-3 week wasn’t enough to move Kansas City up in the power rankings. Bleacher Report’s Joel Reuter still has them ranked No. 28.
“The Royals appear to have dodged a bullet after Bobby Witt Jr. exited Thursday’s game with a knee injury, as he was diagnosed with a grade 1 MCL sprain and might avoid an IL stint. With a 10-9 record in June, they are playing much better baseball than they did over the first two months, but they are digging out of a big hole.”
The injury scare with Bobby Witt Jr. could’ve been much worse. He’s dealing with a grade 1 MCL sprain but hasn’t hit the IL yet. He’s been doing on-field activities with the team despite sitting out the last three games.
They managed just fine without him Monday in their 2-1 win, but that’s only the first game of a four-game series. After that, they’ve got another tough matchup ahead that could make for a grueling week.
The Royals are showing signs of life with that 10-9 record in June. It’s a far cry from how they played in April and May, but they’re still climbing out of a deep hole. Getting Witt back healthy will be key if they want to keep this momentum going.
