The Kansas City Royals and their fans woke up to a nice fact in the standings and that is that they are a first-place team. They can also relish the fact that since July 21, they’ve gone from being eight games behind the Detroit Tigers to a half-game ahead.
That marks the first time since Aug. 29, 2003 that the Royals have held a share of the division lead this late in the season and this is the first time since Aug. 19, 2003 that the Royals have had sole possession of first place. That year was the only winning season the Royals had since 1994 until last year when they won 86 games and finished seven games behind the Tigers.
That distance appeared likely a few weeks ago, especially as the Tigers went about adding Joakim Soria and David Price while the Royals lost Eric Hosmer to a wrist injury.
What has happened in the last few weeks is that Tigers’ flaws have been all too visible, especially offensively. If you were in New York last week, you got a good look at what the Tigers’ lineup when only Victor Martinez hits and that is not good.
In that series the Tigers lost three of four by scoring six runs in 39 innings and hitting .172 (24-for-139). That was a series when Miguel Cabrera was 1-for-10 and when that happened nobody else really did anything.
That offense has been an ongoing problem for the Tigers even as their pitching has taken some of the focus off. Now that won’t take the focus off especially if Justin Verlander‘s sore shoulder is more significant than just your routine shoulder issue. The timing of Verlander’s shoulder is never good but it especially put the Tigers down for the count Monday night since their bullpen was taxed in a 19-inning loss Sunday.
That allowed the Royals, who have better defense and pitching, to keep rolling. Evidence of their bullpen superiority can be seen in their 1.46 ERA since July 22, so it’s not a coincidence that in that time period, the Royals have gone 16-3 while pitching to a 2.42 ERA.
The Royals have done a nice job of taking advantage of the Tigers’ flaws that have been exposed in the standings. All of this is coming while the story of South Korean Royals fan SungWoo Lee has lit up the internet but the Royals are doing their part to ensure that his presence is not coming in a time of meaningless summer games which is something all to familiar to fans in Kansas City.
This is becoming a wild and fun ride for the Royals while becoming a wild and nervous ride for the Tigers. Suddenly that Tigers-A’s ALCS does not sound so automatic as it seemed at the trade deadline.
Even as the Royals lost their hottest hitter and didn’t address any needs at the trade deadline to expand an already record $92M payroll. On the Royals telecast last night the postgame interview with shortstop Alcides Escobar was done with the crowd — the loudest of the year according to sideline reporter Joel Goldberg.
That interview came after Lee hoisted a victorious “W” along the left field catwalk much to the delight of the fans.
“You can’t put words on it,” Butler said. “We’re out there playing, we’re out there having fun. We’re having a blast.”
Those were Butler’s words to the Kansas City media. Those are words that have been heard often in Kansas City recently and infrequently in Detroit recently.
