The Kansas City Royals got off to a less than ideal start to the second-half of the season this weekend, dropping their opening series to the Miami Marlins. However, it could've been worse as at least the bats showed up for two of the three games and they managed to avoid the sweep with a Sunday victory.
A bleak reality remains though, as back-to-back series losses have put the Royals in a difficult spot in the current American League Wild Card race. Entering Monday's contest with the Chicago Cubs, Kansas City sits 5.5 games back from the Boston Red Sox for the final postseason position.