Going on the road and facign the Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians was no easy task for the Kansas City Royals, though they came away with a more than acceptable 4-3 record last week. The record on the field was over-shadowed by the moves the Royals did and did not make at the trade deadline. They did move Wilson Betemit and Mike Aviles but chose to hang onto Jeff Francoeur and Melky Cabrera. The organization has not had a lot of love for Aviles, so it was obvious he would be moved. Keeping Cabrera and Francouer seems to be a bit of clinging to some hope that Cabrera will repeat a career year (not often the case) and that Francoeur will...well honestly I don't know why they kept Francoeur. Regardless it was a pretty good week to be a Royals fan.

Standings

1 Tigers

2 Indians -2.5

3 White Sox -4.0

4 Twins -7.0

5 Royals -11.0

Game 102: Royals 3 @ Red Sox 1

The Royals took the first game in Boston in a pitchers duel featuring Kyle Davies and Jon Lester. Yep, you read that right. 2011 Kyle Davies continued to do what he's done this season: strike out more guys and walk fewer. However he didn't give up the runs he's been giving up. He's been on a decent run lately and maybe he actually wil turn into a decent pitcher. Now former Royal Mike Aviles put down the best-worst bunt possible and put the Royals in a position to win the game It wasn't a typical Royals game, but it was a victory and one worth staying up late to watch.

Game 103: Royals 9 @ Red Sox 13

Game 2 of the Boston Series was quite the opposite of game 1. Runs were plentiful for both teams as both starters managed 3.2 innings for their respective teams. Duffy struck out 5 in his 3.2 innings, but allowed 6 earned runs. Reliever Nate Adcock one-upped him by allowing 3 earned runs and getting just one out. In fact the only Royals relief pitcher who didn't allow a run was outfielder Mitch Maier. It was that kind of game. The Royals bats tried to keep pace with the 13 runs Boston scored, but could only muster 9. Billy Butler and Alex Gordon hit back-to-back homers and Mike Aviles went 3-for-5, but it was all for naught.

Game 104: Royals 5 @ Red Sox 12

With the bullpen depleted, the one thing Bruce Chen HAD to do was go deep into the game. Unfortunately, he could only muster 4 innings while giving up 10 earned runs. Nate Adcock was summoned to finish the ball game and did a fine job with the final 4 innings. The game was never withing the Royals grasp, however Butler and Hosme both homered to give something for the fans back home to cheer about.

Game 105: Royals 4 @ Red Sox 3

Luke Hochevar put together a very solid start in route to helping the Royals split the series with the Red Sox. He went 7 innings, struck out 6, walked 1 and allowed only 2 earned runs. The offense was bouyed by the bottom of the lineup and another Billy Butler home run. A four-run 4th inning was all the scoring needed to split the series and leave Boston with a very satisfactory grin.

Game 106: Royals 12 @ Indians 0

The Royals might have a chip on their shoulder in regards to the Indians. It's hard to look across the dugout and see a team that seems to be just as talented, yet fighting for a Division title. On this night at least, the Royals put the Indians in their place. A Melky Cabrera grand-slam represented a mere third of the Royals scoring output in route to a 12-0 beat down. Jeff Francis had one of his best outings to date as he went 8 inings and struck out 6. Billy Butler and Alex Gordon both added homeruns of their own and Alcides Escobar went 3-for-4.

Game 107: Royals 2 @ Indians 5

It's rare for this years Royals rotation to put together three straight solid outings, but that's what happened as Felipe Paulino went 6 innings and allowed 0 earned runs. Unfortunately, the bullpen wasn't as steady and allwed the Indians to score 4 runs and win in walk-off fashion. All 4 runs were on the shoulders of closer Joakim Soria. Catcher Matt Treanor left the game with a concussion when he tagged out Matt LaPorta at the plate. It was a gut-wrenching loss to a plucky division rival.

Game 108: Royals 5 @ Indians 3

Rookie Danny Duffy bounced back from a terrible outing in Boston and held the Indians in check for 5 innings as he allowed only 2 earned runs and struck out 6. It was enough as the Royals offense scored 5 runs on the Indians sfaff. Alex Gordon and Jeff Francoeur both hit their 14th home runs and Melky Cabrera collected a pair of hits. The Royals bullpen came into the game and picked up were Duffy left off and allowed a single run for the rest of the game as the Royals took the series from Cleveland.

Position player of the week: Billy Butler

In the last 7 days, Billy Butler has hit 5 home runs, collected 12 RBI and hit an additional 2 doubles. That's good for an OPS of 1.349 this week. He's been on an absolute tear this week and is a huge reason the Royals were able to have a winning road trip.

Starting pitcher of the week: Jeff Francis

It's shocking that he's still a part of the Royals after the non-waiver trade deadline. He would make a solid contributor for a contending team and still might get moved through the waive trade system. Last week he pitched a great 8 inning 6 strikeout, 0 earned run affair to earn the nod this week.

Relief pitcher of the week: Mitch Maier

Hey, you gotta give it to the outfielder who pitched a scoreless inning in Fenway right? He may never get a chance to win this prestigious award again. I've always been a huge Maier fan and getting to see him pitch was pretty sweet. I would love to see him be a part of a winning Royals franchisce, but with the non-trades of Cabrera and Francouer, I don't see it happening.

The week to come

The trades may not be over as players can still be moved through the waiver system. I'd be surprised if the Royals don't make at least one more move. Also, getting Cain and Giavotella into the clubhouse is something the Royals have to figure out. Both are dominating in AAA and deserve a shot to prove they can do it at the highest level. The Roayls get to come home and take on the Orioles and the division leading Tigers.

8/2-8/4 vs Orioles

8/5-8/7 vs Tigers

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Nick Scott is a contributor to Royals Authority and is the host of the Broken Bat Single Royals podcast, you can follow him on Twitter or on Facebook.