Royals To Open Crucial Guardians Series Without Manager Matt Quatraro
The Kansas City Royals are floundering, and they need a series win in the worst way as they open a three-game set with the rival Cleveland Guardians.
They'll also be taking the field without their manager.
Amid a five-game losing streak, Kansas City sits 3 1/2 games back of the Guardians for the American League Central division lead, just five days after pulling even with Cleveland for the first time all summer. It's a must-win series, and the Royals will be missing a familiar face at the end of the bench.
On Monday, the Royals announced that manager Matt Quatraro would be away from the team while he "tends to a personal matter." The Royals did not specify any amount of games Quatraro was expected to miss, and it is not yet known how long Quatraro's absence will be.
Bench coach Paul Hoover will serve as the manager during Quatraro's time away.
Quatraro has certainly made a difference for the Royals in his second season as the club's manager, and missing him for any amount of time is a significant loss. After losing 106 games in his first season, Quatraro has helped guide Kansas City to the brink of the postseason.
In addition to fighting for the division crown, the Royals hold a 4 1/2 game lead on the closest AL Wild Card competitor, the Boston Red Sox. The Detroit Tigers are five games back, and the Seattle Mariners 5 1/2.
After losing first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino to injury, the Royals' lineup looked a lot different with Quatraro in the dugout on Sunday, with new acquisitions Tommy Pham and Yuli Gurriel sliding in on their first day with the club. Both are in the starting lineup for Monday's game as well.
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Jackson Roberts is a former Division III All-Region DH who now writes and talks about sports for a living. A Bay Area native and a graduate of Swarthmore College and the Newhouse School at Syracuse University, Jackson makes his home in North Jersey. He grew up rooting for the Red Sox, Patriots, and Warriors, and he recently added the Devils to his sports fandom mosaic. For all business/marketing inquiries regarding "Kansas City Royals On SI," please reach out to Scott Neville: scott@wtfsports.org