Guardians denied sweep after 4-2 loss to Royals
Updated: Apr. 13, 2025, 4:51 p.m.|Published: Apr. 13, 2025, 3:50 p.m.
By Joe Noga, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Looking for a perfect ending to their first homestand of the season on Sunday, the Guardians instead ran into a buzzsaw in Kansas City’s Cole Ragans and left Progressive Field after suffering a 4-2 loss to the Royals.
Cleveland surrendered an early two-run lead and saw its five-game winning streak came to an end after. The Guardians now head out on the road for their next six games following a 5-1 homestand. They dropped to 2-3 against lefty starters after going 29-11 when facing left-handers in 2024.
Ragans retired 18 of the final 19 batters he faced, including eight of those on strikeouts. He finished with 10 punchouts, becoming the first Kansas City pitcher with three straight double-digit strikeout starts since Kevin Appier in 1996.
Cleveland managed four total hits off Ragans, including an Austin Hedges line drive to left in the fifth inning that represented the final base runner he allowed. Manager Stephen Vogt said the Guardians hit Ragans hard early, but did not have a whole lot to show for it.
“Then he really started executing his offspeed in the zone and then under it,” Vogt said. “He pitched an awesome game. Exactly what a No. 1 is supposed to do, and that’s to stop (a losing skid) and win the game.”
Maikel Garcia snapped a 2-2 tie with a two-run single off Guardians starter Ben Lively that gave the Royals their first win against Cleveland since the second game of the season in Kansas City.
Daniel Schneemann gave the Guardians a two-run lead in the second with a two-out double off Ragans and some help from Kansas City’s defense.
Schneemann drilled a 2-2 fastball to the gap in left center with Jhonkensy Noel already on base. The ball went to the wall between MJ Melendez and Kyle Isabel, and third base coach Rouglas Odor decided to send Noel around third.
Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. took the relay throw from Melendez and fired toward the plate, but his throw sailed up the line and past Fermin, allowing Noel to score. Schneemann never broke stride and dove across the plate behind Noel as the ball bounced to the backstop and was picked up by Ragans.
Schneemann said he was a little surprised that Odor sent Noel, but that it was obviously the right decision.
“Once I saw that, I knew it was going to be close,” Schneemann said. “I figured I could get into third safely and then the throw got away. So it worked out.”
Witt was charged with an error on the throw and Schneemann picked up his first double and second RBI of the season.
Schneemann added a nice defensive play in the fourth, robbing Witt of a bid for his second hit of the day with a diving catch on a line drive in the outfield grass behind second.
“Schnee is an outstanding baseball player, we’ve all seen it now,” Vogt said. “Put him anywhere on the field and he is going to make plays.”
But after a base hit by Pasquantino in the fourth, Salvador Perez launched his second home run of the season, a 394-foot shot into the bleachers in left that tied the score and gave him 12 homers in 81 career games at Progressive Field. Lively said he made a mistake when he hung a slider to the veteran designated hitter.
“It just comes down to executing a pitch,” Lively said. “If I throw that pitch off the plat in the left-hand batter’s box, there’s a good chance he swings at it too, and the ball’s 10 feet out of the box. But I threw it right where he likes it.”
Lively struck out the side in the top of the second and faced only three batters in the third, getting Garcia to ground into a double play after Isbel’s one-out single. But following a one-out walk to Freddy Fermin in the fifth, Isbel doubled to the right center field gap off lively, putting two runners in scoring position.
Garcia jumped on a 1-0 sinker from Lively and lined it to right, giving Kansas City a two-run advantage.
Lively suffered his second loss despite striking out five Royals hitters in six innings. Jakob Junis allowed two hits in a scoreless seventh, and Joey Cantillo did not allow a base runner, striking out four in two innings of relief work.
Vogt said after a few shaky outings in the bullpen, Cantillo appears to have found something that works.
“For Joey it’s all about execution of strikes in the zone,” Vogt said. “His stuff plays. You get some silly looking swings, some good takes. He attacked the strike zone great today and gave us two huge innings.”
Angel Martínez prevented a run in the first inning when he gunned down Garcia trying to go from first to third a Witt single. Lively then walked Vinnie Pasquantino, but worked out of trouble after that by getting Perez to ground into an inning-ending double play. Vogt called the play by Martínez a “game-changer.”
“Great read for him to come get that, and it was a really impressive throw,” Vogt said. “We take pride in our defense. We work on it every day. We throw to bases every series, and we work on it.”
Next:
The Guardians are off Monday before traveling to Baltimore to open a three-game series against the Orioles. Left-hander Logan Allen (0-1, 3.60) will open the series on the mound for Cleveland. The Orioles will counter with righty Charlie Morton (0-3, 8.78). First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. The game will air on CLEGuardians.TV, WTAM 1100 AM, WMMS 100.7 FM and the Guardians Radio Network.
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