The Kansas City Royals are fading at a bad point in the season.
The Royals have lost four straight games and 13 of their past 20. They are in need of a swift turnaround as they host the San Francisco Giants on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.
Kansas City’s slide has all but taken it out of the running for the American League Central title and also tightened up the wild-card race.
The Royals (82-71) hold the second wild-card berth but the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers are just two games behind. Detroit swept a three-game set against the host Royals in a series that concluded on Wednesday.
“I know we still control our own fate as far as getting into the playoffs, and that’s all you can really ask for,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro told reporters. “We have to play better. We have to win some games, clearly. We can’t count on someone else losing a whole bunch of games at this time of year. But you don’t want that anyway.
“You don’t want to count on the other team. You want to believe in yourself. And we wouldn’t be in this spot if we didn’t have guys that we believed in.”
Still, Kansas City needs an awakening against the Giants during its final three home games of the season. The Royals finish the campaign with three-game road series against the Washington Nationals and Atlanta Braves, and the latter could be fighting for their playoff lives.
Star catcher Salvador Perez, who has 27 homers and 103 RBIs, isn’t fretting over the situation.
“I don’t worry about it,” Perez said. “I think we’re going to be fine. I think we’re going to make it to the playoffs. That’s the kind of mentality we have here. Everybody has some bad series. It’s part of the game.”
The Royals fell three games below Baltimore for the top wild-card spot when the Orioles defeated the Giants 5-3 on Thursday, thanks to Anthony Santander’s walk-off two-run homer in the ninth.
San Francisco (74-79) won the first two games of the series with Baltimore. But the Giants are also just 7-13 over their past 20 games since being one game above .500 on Aug. 27.
The swoon relegated San Francisco to the role of a spectator in the National League wild-card chase.
“We just want to finish up strong,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “We’re trying to get some guys in there to develop, but there is always that balance of also getting the best lineup out there.”
Michael Conforto slugged a two-run homer on Thursday and went 6-for-13 with two homers and five RBIs in three-game series.
“He’s having much better at-bats, hitting the ball hard,” Melvin said of Conforto. “We’ve seen him go through some really good stretches this year and he seems to be swinging well right now.”
Conforto is 3-for-12 with three strikeouts against right-hander Michael Wacha, who will start the opener for Kansas City.
Wacha (13-7, 3.29 ERA) has won nine of his past 10 decisions, including each of his past two starts. He beat the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday when he gave up one run and four hits over five innings.
Wacha, 33, is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in nine career starts against the Giants. Mike Yastrzemski (2-for-6) has a homer off Wacha.
Right-hander Mason Black (0-4, 7.07) will start for the Giants. He has lost three straight starts since beginning his second stint with San Francisco this season on Aug. 31.
Black, 24, fell to the San Diego Padres in his most recent outing when he gave up two runs and six hits over four innings in an 8-0 loss last Saturday. The rookie has yet to face the Royals.
