Royals’ victory over Braves appears to be a step in the right direction

When the Royals left town April 24 they were 12-6 and generally a carefree affirmation of what we thought they were after the transformative last two seasons.

By the time they arrived at Kansas City International Airport about 2:30 a.m. Friday after playing 13 of their next 16 games in Anaheim, Seattle, Cleveland and New York, they were lugging a 16-18 record and grateful to get home after the long, strange trips.

“That always puts a little more pep in your step,” manager Ned Yost said after their 5-1 victory over Atlanta on Friday at Kauffman Stadium.

But the 4-12 swoon, which included a 1-2 “home stand,” will linger until there is some distance from it.

Especially because of what formed it: some distressing starting pitching, flat bats and uncharacteristic lapses in the field.

All of which fed a swelling perception among at least a segment of fans that the Royals suddenly are afflicted with complacency or apathy after back-to-back World Series appearances punctuated by the 2015 title.

Forget the consoling thought of having seen them go to Game 7 of the World Series in 2014 with an identical 16-18 record (now 17-18) at this stage.

Or the perspective of them winning it all a year ago despite a 6-12 start to September.

Past performance is no guarantee of future results, after all, and there is no way to distinguish now between what’s a mere phase and what’s ultimately defining.

But even if you believe the last few weeks aren’t who these Royals are, Friday was about time for them to reframe the conversation and stabilize and at least look the part again.

Not only were they finally home for more than just a cameo appearance for the first time in nearly three weeks, they also were taking on an Atlanta team that was 8-25.

The Royals took full advantage of the scene, shutting down the Braves behind a stalwart start by Edinson Volquez and the resurfacing of timely hitting in a three-run eighth inning that included Sal Perez’s two-run single.

Beating the Braves on this cool May night doesn’t mean everything is solved or even that the Royals are out of this funk.

But it beats the alternative. And it does make for a pause to exhale and a sense of a fresh start.

That’s particularly so with pitchers Dillon Gee and Danny Duffy taking turns in the rotation the next two days in place of the injured and struggling Chris Young and Kris Medlen.

The win also lends some credence to the public patience of Yost, who met with the team last week in Cleveland.

As Yost described it, the message was just to say he knows the players are “busting” their rear ends and simply wanted to urge them to keep playing with that energy.

They don’t need a lot of coaxing any more, he’ll tell you.

“These are world champions now, man,” he said. “They’re grown up.”

As first baseman Eric Hosmer recalled it, the words perhaps were slightly sharper.

“It was definitely needed,” Hosmer said, calling it “a message to realize” that whatever the Royals’ hopes of another postseason run might be “that this grind comes first, that the 162 games is first and foremost.”

That it does.

And it’s a slog that virtually no team makes it through without turbulence and question marks and potential identity crises.

The trick is managing it over the long haul and recognizing what and when there are needs to be massaged (say, bullpen roles, with Kelvin Herrera recently taking over the eighth), tweaked (Christian Colon playing more at second) or fixed (the back end of the rotation).

Maybe most of all, though, it’s about recognizing the difference between a team in need of a full reset and one that can be trusted to find itself — as Yost deems this one to be.

“I know these guys inside and out,” Yost said. “You can tell if their energy starts to drop a little bit, or it gets real quiet in the clubhouse. It’s never been the case.”

Instead, Yost is pleased to say they’re still laughing and loose — an indicator to him that everything is as it should be, even as it irks some who wrongly think it means they don’t care enough.

No, they aren’t playing with the berserk fire they were a year ago when they sought to avenge the loss to the Giants. But that’s not the same as saying they aren’t into this.

Meanwhile, Hosmer fully expects that the Royals will look back at the last few weeks as “just a tough stretch,” part of a perennial occupational hazard in a marathon season in which no one can be at the top of their game at all times.

“If the effort or … interest wasn’t there, then that would be a problem,” Hosmer said. “And that’s certainly not the case in this locker room.”

He added, “Our best baseball is yet to come.”

We won’t know what that looks like for months.

But Friday at least made for a step in the right direction at a fine time for that.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 11:20 PM with the headline "Royals’ victory over Braves appears to be a step in the right direction."