In KANSAS CITY, Mo., the Kansas City Royals edged out the Cleveland Guardians with a final score of 4-3 on Saturday, highlighted by key performances in the seventh inning. Maikel Garcia ignited the comeback with a 405-foot home run, equaling the score against reliever Paul Sewald. Moments later, Bobby Witt Jr. secured the victory with a decisive RBI double, bringing home Dairon Blanco who had entered as a pinch-runner and successfully stolen second base.
The game saw a setback for the Guardians when star player José Ramírez exited in the sixth inning due to a sprained right wrist, incurred earlier during a stolen base attempt. Gabriel Arias stepped in to take over third base for Ramírez.
Cleveland initially took the lead, with Bo Naylor’s RBI single in the second inning and Carlos Santana’s sacrifice fly in the third bringing Steven Kwan home. Kwan expanded the lead to 3-1 in the fifth with a solo home run.
Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo worked through five innings, surrendering three earned runs on four hits while striking out four and walking three. Daniel Lynch IV came in to provide two flawless innings, securing his first win of the season. Closing pitcher Carlos Estévez managed to seal the deal in the ninth, issuing one walk and recording a strikeout to earn his first save for the Royals.
Salvador Perez contributed significantly for Kansas City, delivering RBI singles in both the fourth and sixth innings. As the team’s top hitters, Jonathan India, Witt, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Perez collectively achieved five hits from 14 at-bats and accounted for five of the team’s RBIs.
Gavin Williams took the mound for Cleveland, giving up two runs on four hits over five innings, alongside one walk and two strikeouts.
Looking ahead, the series is set to conclude on Sunday with Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee opposing Kansas City’s Michael Wacha in the final matchup.