Swept away

This was the worst homestand in the history of the franchise.

What did we just watch? I’ll tell you what we just watched: The worst homestand in the history of the Kansas City Royals franchise.

There’s no other way to look at it. There simply isn’t. The Royals opened the week with a five-game cushion in the Wild Card with 12 games to play. They proceeded to drop all six games at The K. Three against the Detroit Tigers which were incredibly damaging followed by three to the San Francisco Giants.

The Royals lost 2-0 to the Giants on Sunday, on the heels of a 9-0 bloodletting on Saturday. The weekend games came after a limp 2-1 defeat on Friday. The scoreline in that one actually flattered the team.

Add it all together, and it’s a weekend where the Royals were outscored 13-1. Their only run came on a sacrifice fly. They were 0-15 with runners in scoring position. What’s amazing about that is that on Sunday, they didn’t get a run into scoring position until there was one out in the eighth. On Saturday, they got a runner to second in each of the first five innings. It just didn’t matter. Goose eggs. Nothing but goose eggs.

There’s nothing to break down or analyze from this weekend's slate of games. Why would I subject you to that? They lost all three in agonizingly similar ways. The offense has gone ice-cold at the worst possible time. The Giants held the lead after 26 of 27 innings in the series. This was not close. The Royals have lost seven in a row. There is no silver lining to be found here.

Somehow, after the dumpster fire floating down the flooded road that this offense has become, they are still in position to qualify for the postseason. Maybe there is a silver lining, however slight.

Don’t pay attention to the order above between the Royals and the Tigers. Kansas City owns the head-to-head tiebreaker against Detroit. So yeah…even though they’ve completely cratered, the Royals are still in the exact same position they were in when this most recent tailspin of a seven-game losing streak started. If the season ended today (Why couldn’t it end today? Whyyyyy??), the Royals would qualify as the second Wild Card and would travel to Baltimore for a best two out of three series. The only thing that has changed in the standings over the last couple of weeks has been the absolute collapse of the Minnesota Twins, who after losing both games of a doubleheader in Boston on Sunday, find themselves out of a postseason spot.

Somehow, after all of this, the Royals still control their own destiny. I’m not sure how that’s possible, but I’ll take it.

If you have a Red Sox fan in your life, give them a hug. Or at least send them a thank-you note.

I realize that in some corners of the internet, you’ll find various reactionary hottakes. Fire someone! Cut everyone! Even if they make the postseason they’re going to get their ass kicked! This team sucksssssss!!!

You’re not going to find any of that here. Not while they’re still in the hunt. Even after, yes, the worst homestand in the history of the franchise. This is as deflating a stretch of baseball I’ve ever seen. At the same time, I’ve seen enough baseball to know that two or three good games (as unlikely as that seems at the moment) can wash away all that disgust.

To pick up a mantra that’s been a hallmark of this team, I remain focused on today. I’m not thinking about the “what-ifs” that will come should this team miss out on October baseball. There will be plenty of time to unpack if that comes to pass.

The obvious apex of this season was the 6-1 victory against the Cleveland Guardians on August 27. That moved them into a first place tie with the Guardians atop the AL Central. Since then…pain.

The Royals lost the next day and then proceeded to lose seven in a row. They rallied a bit to get right but have now lost seven in a row again. Since that win in Cleveland, the Royals are 7-15. The only team with a worse stretch over that time is the Chicago White Sox. Never go full White Sox.

I could give you a litany of stats. About how the Royals have the worst offense in baseball since August 27. Or how they’ve hit .184 with runners in scoring position since August 23. Or how they’ve averaged just three runs a game in September, worse than any other team except for…well, you know the one.

Who needs stats other than the win-loss column? The eye test says that at this crucial moment of the season, this team can’t hit their way out of a paper bag. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a baseball team as tightly wound as the Royals seem at the moment.

A week ago, I was extremely confident of a return to the postseason. Today? Nothing is guaranteed.

July 19. That was the last time the Royals were on the outside of the Wild Card race.

Obviously, this abysmal run of baseball coincides with the absence of Vinnie Pasquantino. His loss has been a dagger to this offense. Yeah, yeah, yeah…his overall stats aren’t all that impressive. Still, I point to this one metric over and over again: Pasquantino drove in 23 percent of all runners on base when he came to the plate. That’s an incredibly impressive rate of driving in runs. In fact, among qualified hitters, it’s the best in the majors. The best. You don’t find a couple of guys off the waiver wire, plug them into a lineup and replace that kind of run-scoring production.

When the Royals picked both Tommy Pham and Robbie Grossman off the waiver wire, I speculated the Royals put in claims on both and were surprised to land the pair. They were probably expecting to get just one. Neither has provided much production. Nor has Hunter Renfroe, recently back from the IL. The other move just ahead of September was the acquisition of Yuli Gurriel. He’s been a pleasant surprise.

This has evolved into one of those stretches where it feels like there are no good—or even decent—options for this lineup. Just two players have been above average offensively since the end of August: Bobby Witt, Jr. is one. Naturally. The other is Gurriel. I told you he’s been a surprise.

The Royals will face three left-handed starters in their series of the Nationals. Keeping that in mind, here’s how I would fill out the lineup card…

Leadoff would be Maikel Garcia. No, he’s not the solution. Neither is Pham. But when the offense was firing in the first half of the season, Garcia was at the top. Try to recapture some of that mojo.

Second and third would be Witt and Salvy Perez.

I’d put Gurriel in the cleanup spot. He’s looked surprisingly sharp since joining the team. Gurriel has hit .333/.415/.394. He’s not going to give you that cleanup power, but he’s a guy who can put together a decent plate appearance as illustrated by his almost 15 percent walk rate.

Then, one of the two lefties I’d keep in the lineup would be Michael Massey. The splits aren’t there, but if you play Garcia at second that means Paul DeJong is in the lineup. I’ll ride with the left-on-left matchup with Massey.

Following that, I would recall Nelson Velázquez and drop him in the lineup at sixth. He didn’t really show during his time earlier in the season, but he’s a right-handed bat with some thump potential. That tells you what I think of the right-handed bats currently on the roster. For me, the corresponding move would be to either option Dairon Blanco or DFA Garrett Hampson.

That’s not a panic move to recall Velázquez. That’s a move that acknowledges the current group isn’t getting the job done. It cannot hurt to bring someone in who hasn’t been around the clubhouse the last month. In my mind, Velázquez is the only viable option in Omaha. Bring him up and hope he catches fire for a week.

Next would be Hunter Renfroe in right batting seventh. Then, fine, it can be Robbie Grossman as the left fielder. Grossman will be hooked for MJ Melendez as soon as his spot comes up against a right-hander later in the game. Kyle Isbel finishes us off in his typical ninth spot.

Garcia - 3B
Witt - SS
Perez - C
Gurriel - 1B
Massey - 2B
Velazquez - DH
Renfroe - RF
Grossman - LF
Isbel - CF

There’s no guarantee this lineup will get the job done. I do know, that no matter what Buddy Bell may say, it can’t be worse than what we just saw over the weekend.

A byproduct of this tailspin and worst homestand in the history of the franchise is the team wasn’t able to be properly thanked by the fans as they closed out their home schedule. It could’ve been a party. Credit to those who turned out this weekend. There wasn’t much anything to cheer about, but they tried to rally the boys in the rare key moments.

Everything about this losing streak sucks.

A week ago, FanGraphs had the Royals as a virtual lock for the postseason. They were at 99 percent to play in October, either as the Wild Card or as champions of the Central (although those odds were fading.) Today, the picture is grim and troubling.

The Central is out of the question. The Royals’ late fade has handed the Guardians the division title. Their current odds of qualifying via the Wild Card stand at a not-so-nice 69 percent. They have been jumped by the Tigers. Nothing is guaranteed. Everything is in jeopardy. As good as I felt about their chances a week ago, today it’s the polar opposite.

The Tigers have the best odds of the Central teams because of a schedule that can only be described as incredibly favorable. They play their final six games at home. Three against the Rays followed by three against the White Sox. The Twins will try to gain some ground at home against the Marlins and the Orioles. That series against Baltimore could’ve been key. Not so much now.

The Royals, as you’re aware, finish with three in Washington followed by three in Atlanta. The Braves are currently two games out of a Wild Card spot. They will host one of the teams ahead of them in the standings before the Royals come to town with a three-game set against the Mets. That series suddenly feels key to the Royals’ chances. Both teams could have everything to play for. A better scenario would be for the Mets to crush the Braves, leaving the team checked out for their final series of 2024. Please?

One week. That’s what remains in what has so far been a magical season from a team that has consistently been defined as resilient. We’re about to find out how resilient they can be.