Kansas City Royals at Cleveland Guardians
· Major League Baseball
3 - 0
Michael Wacha dominates for 8 innings as Royals blank Guardians 3-0 for their 11th win in 12 games
Wacha (8-8) was in control from his first pitch to his 103rd and cooled off the Guardians, who just returned from a 6-0 trip to Colorado and Los Angeles.
Rookie Carter Jensen hit a two-run homer in the ninth for the Royals, who have won 11 of 12 and are 23-16 since the All-Star break.
Wacha, who leads the AL with 18 quality starts, walked none and struck out a season-high 10. The Guardians only got one runner past second base against the right-hander. Wacha improved to 6-1 against AL Central teams in 2026.
Steven Cruz loaded the bases in the ninth on two singles and a hit batter before retiring Angel Genao on a comebacker for his sixth save.
Clinging to a 1-0 lead, Jensen gave the Royals two huge runs in the ninth by belting his 19th homer, a shot to right off reliever Craig Yoho.
Tanner Bibee (5-14) suffered another tough loss for Cleveland. He only allowed one run in six innings, but the Guardians' offense couldn't get anything going against Wacha.
Bibee came in getting an average of just 3.17 runs of support per game — third-lowest in MLB.
After missing some early scoring chances, the Royals finally pushed across a run in the fifth inning against Bibee.
Bobby Witt Jr., whose return from the injured list earlier this month has helped fuel Kansas City's recent tear, doubled and went to third on a flyout. Salvador Perez brought him home with a hard groundout.
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How can I watch Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Guardians?
- TV Channel: Royals at Guardians 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
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Scoring Summary
 |
9th Inning | Genao grounded out to pitcher. |
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9th Inning | Genao hit for Bailey |
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9th Inning | Bazzana hit by pitch, Adell to second, DeLauter to third. Cleveland Guardians challenged: call on the field was overturned. |
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9th Inning | Lowe struck out swinging. |
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9th Inning | Adell singled to right, DeLauter to second. |
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9th Inning | Ramírez struck out swinging. |
Statistics
 KC |
 CLE |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Games Played | 1 |
| 1 | Team Games Played | 1 |
| 1 | Hit By Pitch | 1 |
| 7 | Ground Balls | 10 |
| 9 | Strikeouts | 12 |
| 3 | Runs Batted In | 0 |
| 1 | Sacrifice Hit | 0 |
| 9 | Hits | 6 |
| 0 | Stolen Bases | 0 |
| 2 | Walks | 0 |
| 0 | Catcher Interference | 0 |
| 3 | Runs | 0 |
| 0 | Ground Into Double Play | 0 |
| 0 | Sacrifice Flies | 0 |
| 34 | At Bats | 33 |
| 1 | Home Runs | 0 |
| 0 | Grand Slam Home Runs | 0 |
| 15 | Runners Left On Base | 15 |
| 0 | Triples | 0 |
| 1 | Game Winning RBIs | 0 |
| 0 | Intentional Walks | 0 |
| 3 | Doubles | 0 |
| 19 | Fly Balls | 11 |
| 0 | Caught Stealing | 0 |
| 127 | Pitches | 125 |
| 0 | Games Started | 0 |
| 0 | Pinch At Bats | 1 |
| 0 | Pinch Hits | 0 |
| 0.0 | Player Rating | 0.0 |
| 1 | Is Qualified | 1 |
| 0 | Is Qualified In Steals | 0 |
| 15 | Total Bases | 6 |
| 38 | Plate Appearances | 34 |
| 162.0 | Projected Home Runs | 0.0 |
| 4 | Extra Base Hits | 0 |
| 5.0 | Runs Created | 0.6 |
| .265 | Batting Average | .182 |
| .000 | Pinch Hit Average | .000 |
| .441 | Slugging Percentage | .182 |
| .235 | Secondary Average | .000 |
| .324 | On Base Percentage | .206 |
| .766 | OBP Pct + SLG Pct | .388 |
| 0.4 | Ground To Fly Ball Ratio | 0.9 |
| 5.2 | Runs Created Per 27 Outs | 0.6 |
| 30.0 | Batter Rating | 6.0 |
| 34.0 | At Bats Per Home Run | 0.0 |
| 0.00 | Stolen Base Percentage | 0.00 |
| 3.34 | Pitches Per Plate Appearance | 3.68 |
| .176 | Isolated Power | .000 |
| 0.22 | Walk To Strikeout Ratio | 0.00 |
| .053 | Walks Per Plate Appearance | .000 |
| -.029 | Secondary Average Minus Batting Average | -.182 |
| 6.0 | Runs Produced | 0.0 |
| 1.0 | Runs Ratio | 0.0 |
| 0.5 | Patience Ratio | 0.2 |
| 0.3 | Balls In Play Average | 0.3 |
| 81.5 | MLB Rating | 61.5 |
| 0.0 | Offensive Wins Above Replacement | 0.0 |
| 0.0 | Wins Above Replacement | 0.0 |
Game Information
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 31,941 | Capacity:
2026 American League Central Standings
| TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland |
- | 75 | W6 | 0.522293 | 82 |
 Chicago |
1 | 76 | W3 | 0.51592356 | 81 |
 Detroit |
8.5 | 84 | L1 | 0.46835443 | 74 |
 Minnesota |
9 | 84 | L1 | 0.46496814 | 73 |
| Kansas City |
15 | 90 | L5 | 0.42675158 | 67 |