Kansas City, Mo. ? The Kansas City Royals aren’t pouting or walking around with their heads down because they’ve lost 90 games this season.

But as the season winds down, there is a sense of urgency, a strong desire to avoid a third-straight 100-loss season that would give them the distinction of being the first non-expansion team to record such a streak in more than 50 years.

During last year’s 56-106 campaign – the worst in club history – and their 58-104 mark in 2004 when they finished a club-record 43 games out of first place, the Royals have amassed all sorts of franchise lows.

If they lose 100 again this season, the Royals will be the first non-expansion team to lose 100 games in three straight years since the 1952-54 Pittsburgh Pirates. The last franchise with triple-digit losses for three straight years was expansion Toronto in 1977-79.

Kansas City has to win six of its final 15 games to avoid triple-digit losses.