Kansas City Royals win ninth straight game, take over first place

What a difference some offense makes. That has been the motto for the Kansas City Royals this month.

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The Royals won their ninth straight game on Tuesday night, blowing out the Detroit Tigers by a final score of 11-4. With the victory they took over first place in the American League Central.

As things stand now on June 17th, the Royals have 14 home runs this month. That is already more than they had in April (11) and May (13).

The Royals have scored 77 runs already this month. That puts them well on pace to shatter their marks from April (105) and May (108).

On Monday night the Royals chased Justin Verlander after roughing him up for seven earned runs. All they did to follow that up was hang 10 runs on the defending Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer on Tuesday. You read that right: 10 hits, 10 runs, and 10 earned runs for Scherzer in just four innings of work.

The pitching and the run prevention were always there for Kansas City. We asked ourselves: what if they got some decent production from their lineup? That was the question, and while this blistering pace is unsustainable, we are starting to get a sense of the answer. This Royals team certainly can make the playoffs and possibly win the division if they get enough from their offense on a consistent basis.

The Royals have two more games with the Tigers before coming home to an extended home stand this weekend. The way things are going, that will give them the chance to play in front of an energized fan base after this seemingly overdue winning streak.