Manager Ned Yost believes struggling offense might be coming around
The Royals’ offense has sputtered, scoring two runs or fewer in all seven losses during a recent 2-7 cold stretch entering Friday’s series opener against the Texas Rangers at Kauffman Stadium.
“We’re just not swinging the bats really well right now,” said center fielder Lorenzo Cain, whose .242 average and four RBIs in the last nine games qualifies as relatively scorching hot. “It’s not one guy. It’s the entire group. All of us haven’t been swinging it. We’ve definitely got to get it going, start being consistent and putting some runs on the board.”
Virtually nobody has been immune from the Royals’ team-wide slump, but manager Ned Yost continues to preach patience.
“They’re not pressing,” he said. “This group, I haven’t seen them press a bit this year.”
During the first 42 games, the Royals were batting .289, averaging five runs and 10 hits per game with a collective .775 OPS. They were among the top American League attacks across the board.
Beginning with a loss against Michael Wacha in the finale of the Cardinals’ series on Memorial Day weekend, the Royals’ offense hit the skids.
During the last nine games heading into Friday, the Royals were batting .200, averaging 2.3 runs and fewer than seven hits per game with collective .260 on-base and .295 slugging percentages.
“We try to do everything as a team,” Yost joked.
Aside from designated hitter Kendrys Morales, no Royals regular was hitting better than .256 since May 24, but Yost believes his squad is about through the doldrums.
“There are small little signs,” Yost said. “I saw some better at-bats (Thursday) night. It seems like the league has made an adjustment and now we have to adjust back a little bit, but I saw some signs of it last night.”
Plate discipline is the key, he said, as it generally yields more walks and more run production.
“It’s all about seeing the ball,” Yost said. “When you’re seeing the ball, you have a little more discipline.”
To reach Tod Palmer, call 816-234-4389 or send email to tpalmer@kcstar.com. Follow him on Twitter at @todpalmer.
This story was originally published June 5, 2015 at 8:59 PM with the headline "Manager Ned Yost believes struggling offense might be coming around."