 This record was subsequently broken by the 2018 National League Wild Card Game .Despite preseason predictions that were generally bleak, the Royals won 89 games in the regular season, which represented the team's most wins since the 1985 season.Despite falling as far as seven games behind the division-leading Detroit Tigers well into the season, the Royals played very well during the latter half of the regular season to gain a playoffs spot as a wild card team.