Royals Review Roundtable on the Royals-Tigers series

The Royals-Tigers series is a big one, so we decided to round up some of our writers at the palatial Royals Review compound at an undisclosed location and talk pennant-run baseball.

Joshua Ward: A successful series against the Tigers means taking advantage of their defensive liabilities, working the count against their starters so you get into the bullpen, and keeping both Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez in check.

Josh Duggan: Take two of three and not let the Tigers gain ground.

Matthew LaMar: Force their pitchers out early, get to the bullpen, and prevent runs with pitching/defense. Royals can't win in a slugfest but are more suited to a war of attrition.

Shaun Newkirk: Have the Tigers pitching be more 2014 than 2012, and keep the sequencing train rolling.

Kevin Ruprecht: Obviously, the normal pitching and defense thing applies. Most importantly, though, the offense NEEDS TO SHOW UP. Not be fashionably late. Not skip the party because they're too tired or already in their sweatpants. They need to burst through the party door with a bottle of Jack and a box of Cubans.

Max Rieper: The pitchers need to keep the ball in the ballpark. Guthrie and Vargas need to avoid a big inning, and there are few weak spots in that Tigers lineup. The hitters need to work the count and get into that vulnerable Tigers bullpen. Justin Verlander and Rick Porcello are hittable, and Max Scherzer is known for being a guy that can't go deep in games, so the opportunity is there if the Royals aren't hacking at pitches out of the zone. Billy Butler and Eric Hosmer need to show up. Butler is mired in a 8-49 slump over his last 14 games, and Hosmer is hitting under .200 since returning from the disabled list with not much production. It would also be nice if Greg Holland was 100% healthy for this series.

NHZ: The BABIP Fairy and the RISP Centaur to both take their side in this fight.

Kevin Ruprecht: Normally, I'd say no. Normally, I'd say small sample size noise. In this case, I'm inclined to say that as well, but this is a team managed by Ned Yost, who didn't want to get into players' domes by pinch hitting or whatever. 35,000 screaming fans can get into your dome if pinch hitting will.

Shaun Newkirk: Brian Bannister beat Stephen Strasburg in Washington on national TV. Literally anything can happen.

Matthew LaMar: No, its just bad luck. They have gone on great road trips two or three times. Eventually you just stop getting lucky. It's just happened to be at home in front of good crowds.

Joshua Ward: It probably is just noise, but it is interesting that they have struggled at home under the bright lights, and that they have struggled in general in bigger moments. For all the platitudes about the Tigers having a team built for the post-season, they also have a team consisting of people who have been here and done that. It doesn't mean the Royals can't outperform them, but they'd have to prove it first.

Max Rieper: I think there is probably a very small kernel of truth to it, but its probably just noise. This team has won big series under pressure this year. You don't get to be in first place without winning some big series. Besides, if anything, the pressure is on Detroit at this point. They NEED to make a statement this series, because time is running out on them.

Josh Duggan: It's possible that they wilt under pressure, but I don't buy into that quite yet.

NHZ: No. That's just horse pucky.

Shaun Newkirk: Yes. Seattle is basically as good as the Royals and the second wild card is going to come down between KC, Seattle, and Detroit.

Matthew LaMar: This series? Absolutely. Both series? No

Joshua Ward: I don't know. If the Royals get swept, they'd be a game back with the loss of the suspended game hanging over their heads. It would be a pretty big system shock if it happened. Saying that, though, they haven't given up this season. So, I wouldn't say that they can't bounce back from a sweep,  but it would probably mean we need to start looking at the Wild Card standings again.

Max Rieper: I think this team has built up enough confidence and enough of a lead at this point that they can still rebound even if they have a disastrous series. They'd only be a game back with Detroit coming to our place next weekend, and we still have seven games left against Chicago and three against Boston. Both Wild Cards would be in play for the Royals as well. If they get totally blown out in all three games however, I'd probably worry a little.

Kevin Ruprecht: Yes. The Royals have built a decent lead. It will be a severe blow to lose, but not a mortal one. There will be another series against the Tigers. It sure will make it much harder.

NHZ: Sure. They have the easier schedule aside from the head-to-head match-ups.

Joshua Ward: If they sweep the Tigers, they would be five up with eighteen games left. Or, 4.5 up with seventeen left. At that point, going 7-10 likely would still be good enough for the division, and we should probably start planning some Plaza Parades. If anything, sweeping Detroit puts Kansas City into a pretty secure post-season position, even if it doesn't wrap up the division entirely.

Shaun Newkirk: Naw. Down one game and the Royals are projected to finish the season the same as Detroit. With a pinch of luck they could steal a game here or there. Either way, it's all about beating Seattle.

Max Rieper: It wouldn't be over, but I'd start tentatively making post-season plans at that point.

Kevin Ruprecht: No. There will still be other games. It'll be much closer to over, though.

NHZ: Nah, the Royals are still sailing enough off percentages where it's possible they'll crash in the form of a six-game losing streak or something. But I'll be thrilled if we sweep.