Royals Bounce Back From Losing Streak With Winning Week
Washing out the taste of 11 straight losses can take time, but the Kansas City Royals found their form this week, going 4-1 against the Milwaukee Brewers and Detroit Tigers, including wins against two of the National League's hottest pitchers in Brandon Woodruff and Corbin Burnes.
The successful week was driven by strong performances from Andrew Benintendi and (sort of) newcomer Kelvin Gutiérrez. Benintendi continued his offensive ascendence by going 6-for-17 with two walks, four RBIs and two runs scored. Much like a Denny's you find on the side of the highway at two in the morning when you're super hungry, Benintendi keeps coming through in the clutch.
Gutiérrez is showing his penchant for delivering when needed, as well. After Hunter Dozier went on the seven-day injured list, the Royals called up Gutiérrez to stabilize third base with his top-notch glove. He decided to show the Royals he can hit a little, as well, going 7-for-16 with one double, one RBI and three runs scored. He's making the case that he should be kept on board when Dozier returns as a bench player, which would put Ryan O'Hearn and maybe Hanser Alberto's spots in jeopardy.
On the pitching side, this week Kris Bubic return to the starting rotation with a stellar performance battling Woodruff and another solid outing against Detroit. In all, Bubic pitched 11 innings this week, allowing two earned runs, seven hits and five walks with seven strikeouts.
Down on the Farm
The story down on the farm this week is the offensive explosion taking place for the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. The Royals Double-A affiliate decided to bring the bats they carved from trees struck by lightning to last week's series against the Springfield Cardinals.
As a team, they've scored six or more runs in four of their five games against Springfield, and to the delight of Royals fans, this offensive surge is lead by top prospects Nick Pratto, MJ Melendez, and Bobby Witt Jr. Combined, they hit nine home runs last week while Pratto and Melendez brought their season OPS numbers up to 1.119 and 1.060, respectively. Witt Jr., who struggled mightily in the season's opening weeks, has dragged his OPS up near to .698.
Read More: Three Things to Take Away From the Royals' 3-2 Walk-Off Win Against Detroit
Marcus Meade is a contributor to Inside the Royals and a writer of many genres and forms from fiction to scholarship to baseball blogs. He previously wrote for Baseball Prospectus and Kings of Kauffman and also currently writes (occasionally) for Royals Farm Report. He is the host of the Royals Weekly podcast with his brother, Mike. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook @RoyalsWeekly.