In Kansas City, Tanner Bibee delivered a stellar performance on the mound, guiding the Cleveland Guardians to a 6-2 win against the Kansas City Royals. Bibee pitched shutout ball through the seventh inning, supported by Kyle Mazardo’s two-run homer, along with solo shots from Gabriel Arias and Daniel Schneemann.
Bibee, who improved his record to 1-0, allowed no runs and just two hits over 6 2/3 innings, striking out two batters and issuing two walks. This strong outing came after he missed the opening day start due to illness.
On the Royals’ side, Michael Wacha struggled, throwing 87 pitches in four innings and giving up one run on four hits, with two strikeouts and four walks. The Royals’ starting pitchers failed to go beyond the fifth inning in any game during the season-opening series.
Mazardo’s two-run blast, his second homer of the series, traveled 417 feet into the right field fountains off Sam Long, extending the Guardians’ lead to 3-0. Arias added a solo homer in the sixth to make it 4-0.
Cleveland took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning on Arias’ sacrifice fly, bringing home Carlos Santana. Schneemann’s eighth-inning homer further widened the Guardians’ lead to 6-0.
Although the Royals managed to score two runs in the eighth, with Bobby Witt Jr. hitting an RBI single and Hunter Renfroe drawing a bases-loaded walk, they fell short in their comeback bid.
A key moment came in the eighth inning when the Royals had the tying run at the plate, but Hunter Gaddis induced a groundout to secure the victory for the Guardians.
Steven Kwan’s three singles in the game contributed to his strong series performance, totaling six hits overall.
Next up, the Guardians will send RHP Luis Ortiz to the mound for a three-game series in San Diego, while the Royals will face the Milwaukee Brewers with LHP Kris Bubic on the hill.
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