Royals shift attention away from Seattle
Mariners' win on Thursday eliminates possibility of clinching playoff spot
CHICAGO -- Just as the Royals were about to finish up batting practice on Thursday, the Seattle Mariners finished off the Blue Jays in Toronto, 7-5.
That meant that the Royals knew they could not clinch a playoff spot in their game against the White Sox on Thursday night.
Earlier in the day, Royals manager Ned Yost saw that the Blue Jays had taken a lead and was hopeful they'd hold it because the combination of a Seattle loss and a Kansas City win would ensure the Royals a postseason berth. But it didn't happen.
"It's not disappointing," Yost said after he heard the final score. "We control our own destiny. We don't expect them to lose, we expect them to win. We've got to take care of our own business. We've got to win two out of the four games here."
So any clinching would have to wait at least one more day. Meanwhile, the Mariners, still hanging in the Wild Card race by a thread, went home for three games against the Angels.
"If you think we're expecting them to lose, uh-uh," Yost said. "No, we're not. We're expecting them to win."
The Royals defeated the White Sox, 6-3, on Thursday night to cut their magic number to clinch a playoff spot to one.