Moose continues to rake with 15th home run

KANSAS CITY -- Don't look now, but Mike Moustakas is now second on the Royals in home runs with 15, just three behind Salvador Perez.

Thanks to a recent seven-game hitting streak and a sudden power surge, Moustakas is back feeling confident at the plate. Moustakas hit his 15th in an 8-5 loss to the Orioles on Wednesday night.

A few weeks ago, as Moustakas was slumping, he began seeking some answers from hitting coach Dale Sveum. They both agreed to go back to Moustakas' basics -- using less of his body during the swing and more of his hands.

"I've always been a handsy hitter," Moustakas said. "It's what I feel comfortable with."

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Moustakas also had to make an adjustment with his stance, as standing more tall and less squatty in the batter's box leaves him feeling like he can fire at the ball more quickly.

"With that stance, I try to take everything out of [the swing] and just get simple -- just use my hands," he said. "My stance is a little more upright and that helps. Like I said, I just keep it as simple as I can."

Moustakas also had a single on Wednesday night and now is on an 11-for-28 (.393) tear. And during that stretch, he has three doubles, four homers and 10 RBIs.

"He's just hot," manager Ned Yost said.

But not necessarily fortunate. As the Royals were crawling back into the game on Wednesday, Moustakas came up with two on and two out in the sixth. He ripped a liner headed for the left-field corner that third baseman Manny Machado speared, saving two runs.

"That's baseball," Moustakas said, shrugging his shoulders. "Not every hit you get is hard hit. Sometimes you get jammed like I did in my first at-bat and flare it up the middle for a single. You can't get too upset or too happy about each one."