And they better figure things out soon.
The Royals dropped their seventh game in a row Tuesday, extending their longest losing streak of the year. It comes at an inopportune time, as they are taking on the toughest part of their schedule with just a few weeks remaining in the season. The streak was punctuated by the loss of run-producer Vinnie Pasquantino on Thursday night, and the team has scored just nine runs in the games since then.
The streak has been the culmination of many things going badly at once. The team is hitting just .166/.233/.274 during the streak. They have left 39 runners on base during the streak. The bullpen has given up 19 earned runs in 19 innings during the streak, an ERA of 9.00 that is the worst in baseball over that time.
The team is trying to find a solution to get back on the winning side of things, looking to get back to doing the “little things” to find ways to get on base. But some fans have blamed a lack of caring on the part of the players or a disruption of chemistry. It seems Twitter is full of body language experts.
The Royals are losing because they’re a flawed team and those flaws have come home to roost. The lack of strikeouts from Royals relievers has led to balls in play that become bloopers or infield hits. The Royals' high-reliance on hitting with runners in scoring position to fuel the offense has led them prone to streaks, and now they’re in a drought.
That’s not to say they are a bad team - every team in the American League has flaws, and everyone one of them has had a bad stretch of play. But the Royals have some glaring holes that they have papered over for much of the year, that are crashing down on them now that they have been challenged by top teams.
That’s why I wanted them to be a bit more aggressive at the trade deadline. The moves they did make have helped (Hunter Harvey’s injury notwithstanding), but the club still needs a leadoff hitter, more length in the lineup, and more relievers. Picking up Tommy Pham, Robbie Grossman, and Yuli Gurriel in the last week could help, but it may not be enough to overcome the loss of Vinnie Pasquantino. The Royals still have a 4.5 game lead for the final playoff spot, thanks to the Red Sox bullpen being just as bad as the Royals bullpen. But it may be all for naught if the Royals sputter into the playoffs and quickly lose.
But make no mistake, this isn’t an issue of desire, motivation, or guys having fun in the clubhouse. These are young, competitive players, among the best in the world at what they do. If they seem a bit shell-shocked, its probably because they are searching for answers during their first real adversity this season. Many are in the grind of their first post-season chase, going up against an Astros team that has been in seven consecutive League Championship Series and a Guardians team that won the division two years ago. Getting a hit off an elite pitcher like Framber Valdez isn’t a question of effort.
The Royals are still in a good position to make their first post-season since 2015. But they need to right the ship and avoid a collapse. Manager Matt Quatraro has emphasized focusing on “today” and that’s what the Royals need to do. They can’t change what happened during the losing streak, but they can take care of today. Every day that passes that the Red Sox don’t gain ground is a good one.
But the Royals have to win some games.
