Kansas City Royals look to have hot start in June; keep pressure on AL Central
By Calvin Silvers
The Kansas City Royals have completely flipped the script compared to last season, as the team enters the month of June with 36 wins. Last season, the team wouldn’t crack 30 wins until August.
However, since the end of May, the team is 2-7 but coming off a Sunday walk-off hit for a 4-3 victory over the San Diego Padres in front of fans at Kauffman Stadium. Hoping that will spark another winning streak, the Royals look ahead to some tough competition.
“We’ve been in a little skid, so getting that one before you go to Cleveland is going to right the ship and get the boys going,” pitcher Will Klein said. “So to me, good energy and you know, we’re going to come ready to play.”
Sunday’s victory kept the team three games ahead of the Minnesota Twins in the second spot, and four games back from first place in the AL Central.
The team needed a Nelson Velazquez triple and a Nick Loftin walk-off RBI in the ninth inning to get it done, but it was thanks to the Royals’ constant fight that helped them prevail in the last game of the series.
“Just coming back, continuing to come back, you know, didn’t look good, you know, all that whatever narrative it is there, but really what I thought was how important it was the first night and the second night to get in their bullpen,” manager Matt Quatraro said. “You put people in uncomfortable spots and sometimes it works to your advantage.”
The team, in May, went 18-13 overall, including at one point where they were 16-6, and had won nine games in a row. In the past week, Kansas City had the winning or tying run either on base or at the plate, and they hope they can find that little extra to get them over the hump as the season rolls on.
“They are frustrating, I mean, we come here to win every day, so if you lose those games, no matter how well you play or whatever, it’s not a good feeling to go home with the L,” Quatraro said. “To come out and do that and keep pushing and keep pushing, those three games could have gone either way.”
The royals will want those contests to start going in their favor, as the competition only heats up.
The next three-game series for Kansas City will take place in Cleveland against the Guardians, the top team in the AL Central. Then the team will host Seattle, who’s atop the AL West, and then the team will host the Yankees, who are atop the AL East.
The team is focused on one contest at a time as the royals enter these series in the next two weeks.
“You know, you don’t really look at that when you go playing,” Klein said. “Like you’re up there. It’s you versus the hitter, or hitter versus the pitcher, you’re not really looking at that standings when you’re playing the game. The outcome will show who’s got it there.”
