Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports
On Monday night, the Kansas City Royals beat down the Minnesota Twins with a barrage of hitting and a beautiful outing by Jeremy Guthrie. Guthrie earned the complete-game shutout and was aided by some overkill from the Royals’ bats, who gave him 13 runs of support.
The Royals have been a mystery, wrapped inside of an enigma, buried under a conundrum, guarded by a man who requires the answers to three riddles. They have now won 12 of their last 13 contests, and 14 of 17 since the All-Star break. This is the same team that not only lost five straight games heading into the break, but also lost 19 of 24 early on in the season.
The Royals are now five games over .500 and just four games behind the Texas Rangers for the last Wild Card spot in the AL. The question is can the streaky Royals avoid another collapse and win more consistently over their last 53 games?
I believe so, but they are going to have to continue to improve. With such a young team, it was no secret the Royals had room to grow this year, and they seem to be fulfilling their potential nicely as the season goes on.
Their recent hot streak has been impressive, but only three of the 12 wins came against winning teams. The Royals will be able to show if they’re the real deal after their series with Minnesota, when nine of 13 games will be played against the Boston Red Sox and the Detroit Tigers
If Kansas City can build on the momentum from this hot streak, they can very easily contend for a Wild Card spot or even challenge Detroit for the AL Central. The Royals and Tigers still have 11 games left to play against each other.
Their pitching is legit and the bats are starting to come alive. The Royals are real contenders for their first playoff berth in 27 years.
Aaron Charles is a Kansas City Chiefs writer for www.rantsports.com. Follow him on twitter @aaroncharleskc or add him to your network on Google+
