For those who were concerned about whether Mike Moustakas would be able to return successfully from his ACL injury, the first two series of the MLB season may have provided the answer.

The Kansas City Royals’ former All-Star third baseman has opened the season hot at the plate. In 23 at-bats, Moustakas is hitting .348 with three home runs. The strong start is a good sign after he missed all but 27 games last season.

The first two series of the season for the Royals, however, were not as convincing. The Royals were swept 3-0 by the Minnesota Twins in their opening series and salvaged two wins in Houston before dropping the finale of the series to open the season 2-4.

The Kansas City bats were ice cold in the opening series against the Twins, with the offense scoring just five runs over the three games, one each in the Royals’ first two games.

No Royals starting pitcher gave up more than three earned runs in a start, but the bullpen, which was the team’s biggest question mark coming into the season, has been unreliable so far. Over the first six games, relievers Mike Minor (6.75 ERA), Travis Wood (18.00 ERA) and Matt Strahm (47.25 ERA) gave up a combined 14 runs in 7.1 innings.

Overall, Royals pitching allowed 21 runs in the series to an offense that finished in the bottom half of the MLB in runs scored in 2016.

Kansas City’s weekend series against the Houston Astros, however, was a different story. The bats picked up as the Royals won the first two games for the series victory over a talented Astros squad. Kansas City outscored Houston by a total of eight runs in the first two games of the weekend, before suffering a 5-4 loss in Sunday’s game.

The starting pitching, in particular Jason Vargas (6 IP, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K), was stellar, providing some hope for the back end of the Royals’ starting rotation this season.

The Royals’ lineup hasn’t been clicking offensively, but there are some positives to point to. Salvador Perez is hitting .292 with four home runs in six games and Moustakas has been strong right out of the gate. Both Perez and Moustakas are X-factors this season, and it’s encouraging to see them both off to a hot start.

This week, the Royals play their first homestand of the season with a three-game series against the Oakland A’s and a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels.

_Edited by Eli Lederman | elederman@themaneater.com_