By the first Sunday in September, we could have a good idea of whether the Royals will be returning to the playoffs.

Despite their 58-60 record, the Royals are in the postseason hunt, just four games behind the Yankees for the final wild-card spot.

The Royals return home Monday to begin a pivotal 25-game stretch of their season. A whopping 19 of those games will be at Kauffman Stadium.

The Royals have just a .500 record at home (28-28), thanks largely to an 11-game losing streak at The K in June. But they’ve won eight of their last 12 at Kauffman Stadium.

If the Royals want to make hay in the playoff race, the time is now. The first two series are against teams that are in last place in their respective divisions: the Nationals and White Sox.

Washington has the second-worst ERA in bas

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