Game XII: Royals v. Mariners

In case you don’t know, the Royals are in a bit of a skid, losing their last nine games. A loss today would give them their first 10 game losing streak since, well, July of last season. The Royals haven’t done a lot of winning lately.

They have, however, done a lot of competing in ball games and even leading ball games.

Here’s a quick look at those 11 games:

• March 28: 5-3 win
• March 30: 8-6 win
• March 31: 6-3 loss, never led
• April 2: 5-4 loss, led 4-3 in the 9th
• April 3: 7-6 loss, led 6-4 in the 8th
• April 4: 5-4 loss, led 3-2 in the 5th
• April 6: 7-4 loss, led 4-2 in the 7th
• April 7: 3-1 loss, never led past the 2nd
• April 8: 13-5 loss, whatever
• April 9: 6-3 loss, never led
• April 10: 6-5 loss, tied in 8th

For those counting at home, six of Kansas City’s nine losses have come within two or fewer runs, including four one-run losses. The Royals have also given up 39 of their 67 runs in the 6th inning or later.

So, if you’re a glass-half-full person, at least they have been in games and have scored runs at a somewhat-not-awful pace. They are 0-4 in one-run games, which will surely regress to the mean. But yeah, if you’re a glass-half-empty person, they have lost their last nine games, gotten absolutely nothing from hitters not named Whit Merrifield, Adalberto Mondesi, and Alex Gordon, and have a pretty brutal schedule through mid-May.

With that being said, let’s play some baseball! Here are your lineups for today’s action.