Royals' surge has made them MLB's second-best team over last year
The Kansas City Royals are on a roll, winners of their last five games and, for the first time this season, 17 games over .500. And in the process, they have helped make Missouri the winningest state in baseball over the last calendar year.
Since July 10, 2014, the team with the highest winning percentage in the majors is the St. Louis Cardinals with a 96-60 record (.615). Coming off an impressive four-game series sweep of the Tampa Bay Rays, the Royals are second at 92-63 (.594).
The Royals scored at least seven runs in all four wins over the Rays, a feat they had achieved only twice before in franchise history.
ROYALS FOUR-GAME SERIES SWEEPS SCORING SEVEN-PLUS RUNS IN EACH GAME
| Date | Opponent | Runs |
| Sept. 5-8, 1977 | at Seattle Mariners | 35 |
| August 10-12, 1979 | vs. Detroit Tigers |
32 |
| July 7-9, 2015 | vs. Tampa Bay Rays | 33 |
Taking the mound for the Royals as they seek their sixth consecutive victory is left-hander Danny Duffy, whose season numbers (2-4, 5.14 ERA) are skewed significantly by a bad May.
DANNY DUFFY IN 2015
| Statistic | May | Other months |
| Games/starts | 3/3 | 8/8 |
| Record | 0-3 | 2-1 |
| ERA | 13.03 | 3.50 |
| Opponent batting average | .341 | .286 |
| Strikeouts/nine innings pitched | 6.5 | 6.6 |
| Walks/nine innings pitched | 9.3 | 2.7 |
Kansas City's offense could continue its hot run if designated hitter Kendrys Morales comes to the plate with runners on base a time or two. He's at his best in those situations.
LARGEST INCREASE IN OPS AFTER (0-1) VS. AFTER (1-0), MLB 2015*
| Player, Team | After (0-1) | After (1-0) | Differential |
| Alex Gordon, Kansas City Royals |
.488 | 1.233 | -.745 |
| Edwin Encarnacion, Toronto Blue Jays | .535 | 1.098 | -.563 |
| Adam LaRoche, Chicago White Sox | .429 | .962 | -.533 |
| J.D. Martinez, Detroit Tigers | .654 | 1.141 | -.487 |
| Nelson Cruz, Seattle Mariners | .682 | 1.164 | -.482 |
|
* Minimum 3.1 plate appearances per team game |
LARGEST INCREASE IN OPS, RUNNERS ON BETTER THAN NONE ON, MLB 2015
| Player, Team | None on | Runners on | Differential |
| Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers | .822 | 1.283 | -.461 |
| Kendrys Morales, Kansas City Royals | .599 | 1.004 | -.405 |
| Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies | .756 | 1.131 | -.375 |
| Brandon Crawford, San Francisco Giants | .626 | .980 | -.354 |
| Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers | .668 | 1.021 | -.353 |
