If the Royals could sizzle through that stretch, they harbored thoughts of possibly passing the Tigers and Indians in the standings. At the least, they could climb past one and out of the cellar, a place they have occupied the past four years.

Instead of taking advantage of the cupcake portion of their schedule, the Royals did the opposite. They lost 10 of 12 to the Indians, Tigers and Rangers, who swept a three-game series for the first time in their franchise history at Kansas City.

The Royals ended August by losing 12 of 14 games. After going 3-1 in their first four August games, they dropped 19 of 23 games.

Losing to other losing clubs, oftentimes not even being competitive in that stretch, shows just how far the organization needs to go to be considered a serious contender. It was certainly a setback.

TIGERS 4, ROYALS 2: The Tigers had only one hit in a two-run eighth to snap a 2-2 deadlock, but the Royals' bullpen helped out. Relievers Kip Wells, who took the loss, and Ramon Ramirez combined to walk three and hit a batter. Miguel Cabrera drove in all the Detroit runs with a two-run homer in the sixth a two-run double in the eighth. Jose Guillen homered for the Royals, while the other run scored on a wild pitch.