CLEVELAND — The Kansas City Royals continued their late-summer surge this past weekend at Progressive Field, taking two of three games against the division-rival Cleveland Guardians.Behind dominant starting pitching and timely hitting, Kansas City opened the series with consecutive victories before Cleveland salvaged the finale.
Game 1 (Friday, Aug. 28): Royals 3, Guardians 0
Wacha Silences Cleveland Offense
Michael Wacha delivered a pitching masterclass, delivering eight scoreless innings to snap the Guardians’ seven-game winning streak.Wacha (8-8) scattered four singles, walked none, and struck out a season-high 10 batters to earn his American League-leading 18th quality start.
Kansas City broke a scoreless tie in the fifth when Bobby Witt Jr. doubled and scored on a hard groundout by Salvador Perez.In the ninth, rookie catcher Carter Jensen provided insurance by blasting a two-run homer off reliever Craig Yoho—his 19th of the season.Steven Cruz survived a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the ninth to secure his sixth save.Guardians starter Tanner Bibee (5-14) took the loss despite allowing just one run in six innings.
Game 2 (Saturday, Aug. 29): Royals 8, Guardians 3
Rojas Off-the-Bench Heroics Power KC
Subbing in as a pinch hitter in the sixth, Josh Rojas delivered four RBIs to lead the Royals to their 12th win in 13 games.With the game tied 2-2 in the sixth, Perez drove home Witt with an RBI double off Colin Holderman (6-4) to take the lead.Rojas then entered the game and promptly lined a two-run single to extend the cushion to 6-2, capped off by a two-run homer in the eighth.
Kansas City starter Daniel Lynch IV allowed two runs over 3 1/3 innings—including a two-run homer to Cleveland’s Angel Martínez—before five Royals relievers combined to allow just one run the rest of the way.Anthony Gose (1-0) tossed 1 2/3 scoreless frames to earn the victory.
Game 3 (Sunday, Aug. 30): Guardians 11, Royals 1
Ramírez Milestones Help Cleveland Avoid Sweep
José Ramírez reached a career milestone and drove in four runs as the Guardians broke out of their offensive slump to route the Royals in the series finale. Ramírez recorded his 1,000th career single, hit a two-run home run, and added a sacrifice fly to help Cleveland maintain its position holding the third AL Wild Card spot.
The Guardians built an early lead against Royals starter Seth Lugo (6-8), who surrendered nine runs on nine hits in 3 2/3 innings. Cleveland starter Parker Messick (11-8) struck out five and allowed just one run—an RBI single by Salvador Perez in the first—over six innings to earn the win.
Series Summary & What’s Next
- Friday, Aug. 28: Royals 3, Guardians 0 (WP: Wacha, LP: Bibee, SV: Cruz)
- Saturday, Aug. 29:Royals 8, Guardians 3 (WP: Gose, LP: Holderman)
- Sunday, Aug. 30: Guardians 11, Royals 1 (WP: Messick, LP: Lugo)
The Royals return home to open a series against the Miami Marlins on Tuesday, featuring right-hander Randy Dobnak (2-2, 1.92 ERA) on the mound.
