Kansas City Royals' Facing 1 Big Obstacle Amid AL Central Push

The Kansas City Royals are playing the Chicago White Sox on Thursday night. However, the ball club continued a problematic trend in the game. Starting pitcher Kris Bubic allowed five earned runs across four innings of work. Royals starters have endured trouble earning quality starts in recent action. According to Anne Rogers of MLB.com, Royals starters have recorded only one quality start in the team's last eight games.

Bubic now has a 4.11 ERA. He is a good pitcher, but Bubic has endured ups and downs this year. Seth Lugo has also had ups and downs while Noah Cameron has struggled. Cole Ragans also underperformed before landing on the injured list.

Ragans is more than capable of bouncing back when he returns from injury. Bubic also features the ceiling of a star. The Royals could be getting better performances. The good news is that Michael Wacha has performed well.

Nevertheless, Kansas City needs more overall consistency.

The Royals are still 22nd in ERA in MLB, as their bullpen is reliable. They could be much better in ERA if the rotation was performing at a more respectable level.

The team needs a better overall rotation performance. They are not currently in the best position, as they are fourth in the American League Central standings. If they lose to the White Sox, Kansas City will be 4.5 games behind the Cleveland Guardians for first place in the American League Central standings.