Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians

· Major League Baseball

Kansas City Royals

37-26, 15-16 Away

Final
4 - 3

Cleveland Guardians

40-21, 21-8 Home

Kyle Isbel's RBI single in the 8th lifts the Royals past the Guardians 4-3

Frazier doubled off Hunter Gaddis (3-2) with two outs in the eighth and Isbel followed with a liner to right, giving Kansas City a split of the two-game series. The clubs were rained out on Wednesday.

“I had a lot of opportunities today, late in the game with a chance to take the lead,” Isbel said. “I put a good swing on a ball and got a good pitch to hit.”

The Royals pulled within four games of Cleveland in the division, winning for the third time in 10 games since May 25. Sam Long (1-1) pitched the seventh and James McArthur picked up his 12th save as Kansas City’s bullpen pitched 5 1/3 hitless innings.

“We don’t win if they don’t put up the zeroes,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “The Guardians have gone through a lot of these games, too, and that’s why these teams are winning.”

José Ramírez hit a solo homer and drove in two runs for the Guardians, who have the third-best record in baseball at 40-21, trailing the Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees. Cleveland entered the day an MLB-best 21-7 at home.

Isbel was in the lineup for the first time since Sunday, when he sustained a head injury in a collision with teammate Bobby Witt Jr. against San Diego. He also is recovering from small facial fractures after fouling a ball off his face at Tampa Bay on May 25.

“Some freak accidents,” Isbel said. “I don’t wish that upon anybody, but I’m feeling good.”

Kansas City scored twice in the sixth to tie it at 3. Hunter Renfroe doubled in Freddy Fermin, and MJ Melendez jumped over the attempted tag of Guardians catcher Bo Naylor and touched home on Isbel’s grounder. Home plate umpire Chris Conroy called Melendez out, but it was overturned on a replay challenge by the Royals.

“It was a tough play, just an unfortunate turn that didn’t go our way,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said. “I haven’t seen the replay, but I’m sure they got it right.”

Ramírez, who leads the majors with 60 RBI, gave the Guardians a 2-1 lead in the third with a 422-foot blast into the right-field stands. He also singled home Steven Kwan in the fourth to make it 3-1, chasing Royals starter Brady Singer.

“I think I’ve tried everything against (Ramírez) and he’s still gotten me,” Singer said. “He’s a real, real good hitter.”

Ramírez homered for the eighth time in 20 games and has 50 RBI in his last 46 contests. He also moved past Manny Ramirez into eighth place in franchise history with 806 career RBI.

Guardians starter Tanner Bibee struck out seven in five innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits. Singer went 3 2/3 innings and gave up two earned runs after missing his previous turn in the rotation with an illness.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Royals: 2B Michael Massey (low back ligament strain), who was placed on the 10-day injured list on May 26, will be re-assessed Friday in Kansas City.

Guardians: RHP Eli Morgan (right elbow inflammation) had a “small shutdown, but is going to start his throwing progression again,” according to Vogt.

Royals: LHP Daniel Lynch IV (0-0, 1.50 ERA) faces Mariners RHP Bryce Miller (5-5, 3.18) as Kansas City begins a seven-game homestand Friday.

Guardians: LHP Logan Allen (6-3, 5.83 ERA) takes on Marlins LHP Ryan Weathers (3-5, 3.41 ERA) in the opener of a three-game road series Friday.

How can I watch Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Guardians?

TV Channel: Royals at Guardians 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on ESPN+.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Guardians: 63.1%

Royals: 36.9%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Ramírez grounded out to second.
	9th Inning	Giménez grounded out to third.
	9th Inning	Kwan flied out to center.
	9th Inning	McArthur relieved Schreiber
	9th Inning	Frazier in left field.
	9th Inning	Loftin at second base.

Statistics

KC		CLE
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
2	Hit By Pitch	0
13	Ground Balls	16
9	Strikeouts	7
4	Runs Batted In	3
0	Sacrifice Hit	1
10	Hits	9
2	Stolen Bases	0
3	Walks	4
0	Catcher Interference	0
4	Runs	3
2	Ground Into Double Play	1
0	Sacrifice Flies	0
37	At Bats	34
0	Home Runs	1
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
24	Runners Left On Base	20
0	Triples	0
1	Game Winning RBIs	0
0	Intentional Walks	0
6	Doubles	1
15	Fly Balls	12
0	Caught Stealing	1
153	Pitches	145
0	Games Started	0
2	Pinch At Bats	1
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
1	Is Qualified In Steals	1
16	Total Bases	13
42	Plate Appearances	39
0.0	Projected Home Runs	162.0
6	Extra Base Hits	2
5.6	Runs Created	4.0
.270	Batting Average	.265
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.432	Slugging Percentage	.382
.297	Secondary Average	.206
.357	On Base Percentage	.342
.790	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.724
0.9	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	1.3
5.3	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	3.9
40.0	Batter Rating	26.0
0.0	At Bats Per Home Run	34.0
1.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
3.64	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.72
.162	Isolated Power	.118
0.33	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.57
.071	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.103
.027	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	-.059
8.0	Runs Produced	6.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.5	Patience Ratio	0.5
0.4	Balls In Play Average	0.3
85.8	MLB Rating	80.0
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0