Royals should maintain high hopes for winning the AL Central crown

The Kansas City Royals let one slip away from them with first place on the line in the AL Central.

Kansas City lost the final game of a four-game series with the Guardians on Wednesday, 7-5, in a battle for sole possession of first in the division.

The Royals led 5-2 entering the bottom of the seventh but gave up five runs over the next two innings to spoil the potential sweep.

Despite the unsatisfying (for the Royals) conclusion to the pivotal AL Central set, Kansas City showed it has what it takes to win its first division crown since 2015 when the franchise won the World Series and last made the postseason.

The Royals won the first three games of the series with the Guardians to erase the 10 games it had fallen behind Cleveland earlier this season.