CLEVELAND — The Guardians look to take the series in the April 8 rubber match against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field.
Jose Ramirez broke the club’s all-time games played record April 6, though it came in a Cleveland loss. The Guardians then won April 7 in walk-off fashion thanks to Brayan Rocchio.
Joey Cantillo will take the mound opposite Cole Ragans in a battle of southpaws.
Follow along here for live score updates, analysis and highlights from the April 8 Guardians-Royals game. First pitch is set for 1:10 p.m.
Matt Festa escapes 8th inning with Guardians leading Royals
The Royals put runners on the corners with two outs in the eighth, forcing Erik Sabrowski’s exit from the game in favor of Matt Festa, who induced a flyout off the bat of Salvador Perez to center field, ending the inning unscathed and with the Guardians still holding a 5-2 lead.
Juan Brito drives in first career RBI
Juan Brito has notched another milestone by driving in a run with an RBI double down the right-field line. It’s 5-2 Guardians heading to the 6th inning.
Rare Steven Kwan error leads to Royals run
A Steven Kwan error has led to another run — it’s not a sentence often said — and it’s 4-2 Guardians entering the bottom of the fifth inning.
After Lane Thomas drew a walk, Starling Marte doubled to center, with Kwan’s error allowing Thomas to score.
Joey Cantillo, meanwhile, is up to nine strikeouts today.
Guardians, Royals score update
The Royals are in the board in both the hit and run categories.
In the top of the fourth, Maikel Garcia broke up the no-hit bid and Bobby Witt Jr. doubled home a run to make it a 4-1 Guardians lead. Cantillo went on to stop the damage there.
Joey Cantillo cruising against Royals
While the Guardians have put together a 4-0 lead, starter Joey Cantillo has been cruising today, now through three innings without a hit allowed. He’s struck out four while walking just one.
Jose Ramirez extends Guardians lead over Royals
Jose Ramirez made it a 4-0 Guardians lead in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI hit that he turned into a double, though probably 99% of hitters in the league end up with only a single on it. It was a trademark-style Ramirez hit in which he raced for second base and slid in safely, losing his helmet in the process.
Cole Ragans exits game after first inning injury, Chase DeLauter hits 2-RBI double
Royals starting pitcher has had a rough first inning, and his day is finished.
Ragans was hit with a comebacker off the bat of Jose Ramirez in the first inning, leading to trainers coming out to look at him. He threw two pitches over the catcher’s head while warming up, but stayed in the game. That might have been a mistake, as Ragans then threw five consecutive balls and then gave up a two-run double to Chase DeLauter, finally forcing the Royals starter’s exit from the game.
The Royals turned to reliever Luindir Avila, who then gave up an RBI double to Rhys Hoskins, giving the Guardians an early 3-0 lead and leaving the rest of the game up to the K.C. bullpen.
Below is some pregame information.
Gabriel Arias injury update
Guardians shortstop Gabriel Arias sustained a moderate left hamstring strain and is likely to be out 4 to 8 weeks, according to an update provided by the club.
Juan Brito was called up and made his MLB debut April 7.
Guardians lineup vs Royals
How can I watch Guardians vs. Royals on TV today? Cleveland Guardians radio, streaming, broadcast info
The April 8 game between the Guardians and Royals will be televised via GuardsTV. The games can be heard on WTAM-AM 1100, WHBC-AM 1480, WAKR-AM 1590, WMMS-FM 100.7 and WJER-FM 100.9.
Ryan Lewis covers the Cleveland Guardians and Cavaliers for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians score, lineup vs Kansas City Royals as Cantillo faces Ragans
Reporting by Ryan Lewis, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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