The book has pretty much closed on the Royals contending in the 2017 season. They had some highs and lows, but by the end of July they looked like they had a pretty good shot at a Wild Card spot in a mediocre race. The bottom dropped out after that, and the Royals currently stand 3.5 games back of a playoff spot with just 11 games to go.
Could things have played out differently? Let’s look back at the eight games that might have cost the Royals at one more playoff run.
The Royals got off to a disastrous start, getting destroyed in a sweep in Minnesota, but they continued their road trip by taking the first two games against the Astros in Houston.