Royals beat Blue Jays 5-3, win 9th straight
The Royals beat the Blue Jays 5-3 in Toronto for a ninth straight win, their longest streak since 2017, even as the last-place club sits 10.5 games back in the AL Central.
Seth Lugo closes it out in Toronto
Blue Jays5-3The Royals beat the Blue Jays 5-3 on the road on August 25 to close out the series. Seth Lugo carried the start, going 5.0 innings and allowing 6 hits, 1 earned run and 1 walk while striking out 5.
It was the only game of the set logged in the payload, and the Royals took it after trailing arm-to-arm with Toronto's lineup for most of the night. The bullpen protected Lugo's line the rest of the way to finish the win.
The longest run since 2017 doesn't move the table
| AL Central | W | L | Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 White Sox | 69 | 63 | .523 | — |
 Guardians | 67 | 66 | .504 | 2.5 |
 Twins | 64 | 69 | .481 | 5.5 |
 Tigers | 62 | 70 | .470 | 7.0 |
 Royals | 59 | 74 | .444 | 10.5 |
The Royals have won nine straight games, their longest streak since 2017, according to @TalkinBaseball_. The last five of those are on record here too — Kansas City is 5-0 in its last 5, with wins over the Athletics, three straight over the Tigers and now the Blue Jays.
None of it has moved the club out of last place. At 59-74, Kansas City sits 10.5 games back of the first-place White Sox (69-63) in the AL Central, with an elimination number of 20 — the largest of any club in the division. Cleveland (67-66, 2.5 back), Minnesota (64-69, 5.5 back) and Detroit (62-70, 7.0 back) are all still ahead of them.
Upcoming
The Royals are in Toronto tonight, with Randy Dobnak (2-1, 1.58 ERA) opposing Spencer Miles (5-2, 3.02 ERA). Dobnak's last time out, on August 20 against the Athletics, went 4.0 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts, 4 walks and 6 hits over 96 pitches without a decision. Miles was rougher in his last start, on July 17 against the White Sox, allowing 6 earned runs on 6 hits over 4.0 innings in a loss. Kansas City will again be without Michael Massey, day-to-day after being removed from Tuesday's game against the Blue Jays with an apparent injury, per Jaylon T. Thompson of The Kansas City Star, and Jac Caglianone, day-to-day with an ankle issue that kept him out of Tuesday's lineup.
The Blue Jays are favored at home, and the market reads the total as middling. Given Miles' last outing and a Royals lineup that has scored in bunches during this streak, that price leans on Toronto's home field more than its rotation — Dobnak's scoreless outing against Oakland says the number could be light if he repeats it.