Royals gained major ground in AL Central series vs. Guardians, but lost Wednesday’s finale
The Kansas City Royals didn’t waste time scoring early in Cleveland on Wednesday afternoon. But the last word went to the Guardians, who pulled ahead by one game in the American League Central.
The Royals slugged three home runs in the four-game series finale, but the Guardians surged forward late with a four-run seventh inning to win 7-5 at Progressive Field.
The Royals finished with three wins in the pivotal four-game series.
“When you get the first three, you want to win the fourth,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “So it’s disappointing today, but by no means should that put a damper on what these guys accomplished. And it’s a race. We are going to be back and forth.”
Cleveland did damage against Royals right-handed starter Michael Wacha and high-leverage reliever Lucas Erceg. The Guardians peppered Erceg with multiple RBI singles to pull ahead on the scoreboard.
The majority of Cleveland’s runs were charged to Wacha. He gave up a solo homer to catcher Bo Naylor in the decisive frame and exited after allowing five runs in six innings while striking out seven.
“I was trying to get ahead with the fastball down and away,” Wacha said. “You know, I made a bad pitch and (Naylor) was ready for it. Put a good swing on it and got it out.”
The Royals fell to 75-59. They are one game behind the Guardians (76-58). The teams will play a final three-game series next week at Kauffman Stadium.
Michael Massey, Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino hit solo home runs for the Royals. KC collected 11 hits and took a 5-2 lead into the seventh inning. But the bullpen faltered.
“I thought we put some good at-bats together, but they have a challenging bullpen,” Quatraro said. “We hit a couple of balls well, but not much to show for it.”
Erceg was charged with one earned run. Fellow reliever Chris Stratton also struggled in the eighth and allowed another run.
“That’s baseball in a nutshell,” Erceg said. “Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. I think I made a lot of good pitches. I think the only one that I’m still kind of thinking about is the two-strike slider to (Jhonkensy) Noel to kind of have that base hit dumped in there.”
Missed previous games of the series?
Game 1: Royals climb up AL Central standings with road win over Guardians
Game 2: Salvador Perez’s monster night leads to Royals doubleheader sweep
Game 3: Royals move into first place in AL Central after defeating Guardians
Here are more notable aspects of Wednesday’s game:
Michael Wacha avoids early trouble
In the fifth inning, it appeared as though the Royals had taken the Guardians’ best shot. Wacha faced the heart of Cleveland’s lineup while protecting a slim lead.
Noel began the frame with a leadoff single. Daniel Schneemann followed with a single of his own.
Wacha retired Naylor and surrendered an RBI single to Cleveland star Steven Kwan in the following at-bats. Kwan reached base after Witt didn’t corral a pop-up near the left-field line.
But Wacha didn’t let things get out of hand. He centered his focus on Guardians duo Andres Gimenez and Jose Ramirez. He struck out Gimenez with a 94.8-mph fastball and forced Ramirez to ground out.
“If we do give up a run, try to be as stingy as possible,” Wacha said. “(I was) just trying to get out of it with that being my only one.”
The Guardians collected just one run. In the sixth inning, the Royals scored two additional runs to take a 5-2 lead.
Vinnie Pasquantino has career day
Pasquantino snapped an 0-for-15 stretch on Wednesday.
And the 26-year-old did it in a big way.
He finished 4-for-5 with a home run and three singles. It was the first four-hit game of his big-league career and helped inch him closer to 100 RBIs this season.
“It felt really good,” Pasquantino said. “Just a good day and ready to get after it tomorrow.”
Pasquantino is just three RBIs shy of 100 now. In the first inning, he blasted a solo homer off Tanner Bibee to give the Royals a two-run lead.
Since the All-Star break, Pasquantino ranks second in the majors with 35 RBIs. Witt and team captain Salvador Perez are tied for third in the category.
Next for the Kansas City Royals
The Royals continue their road trip in Houston. KC will begin a four-game series against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on Thursday.
Royals right-hander Brady Singer will start in the series opener. Singer is 9-9 with a 3.38 ERA this season. He is approaching former Royals pitcher Charlie Leibrandt for 13th place on the club’s all-time strikeout list; Singer is two strikeouts shy of Leibrandt’s 618.
The Astros have not announced a starter.
This story was originally published August 28, 2024 at 3:17 PM.
