CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 26: Jose Ramirez #11 of the Cleveland Guardians hits a solo home run off Jonathan Heasley #49 of the Kansas City Royals during the fourth inning at Progressive Field on July 26, 2023 in Cleveland, Ohio.Photo: Ron Schwane / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
The Cleveland Guardians put the Kansas City Royals away early today, scoring in each of the first four innings and leaving little doubt about the outcome.
Jose Ramirez led the offense with his second multi-homerun game this season (June 8 versus the Boston Red Sox) and went three-for-four as the Guardians led 7-0 after four innings. Ramirez's first long shot came in the opening frame, driving in Andres Gimenez who walked before him to give the Guardians a quick 2-0.
In the second inning, Gabriel Arias hit a leadoff single and stole second base as Myles Straw struck out. Then on Steven Kwan's single to centerfield, Arias raced for home and slid between Royals' catcher Salvador Perez's legs who received the toss and tagged Arias on the shoulder. He was initially ruled out, but scored safely after the Guardians successfully challenged the call, extending the lead to 3-0. Royals' starter Alec Marsh retired the first two batters in the third, but loaded the bases on two walks and a single before being relieved by Jonathan Heasley, who walked Steven Kwan and allowed Tyler Freeman to score from third for a 4-0 lead. Then Cleveland continued pouring it on in the fourth with a pair of home runs between Jose Ramirez's solo shot, his second of the day, and David Fry's fourth of the season, leading 7-0.
Meanwhile, Guardians' starter Gavin Williams cruised after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the first in which he allowed two singles and a walk, all with two outs, before forcing a pop out to stop the Royals' threat. However he went just four innings after throwing 87 pitches despite striking out five batters and allowing just three hits.
The Royals got on the board in the fifth against reliever Nick Sandlin after Kyle Isbel singled and scored on Maikel Garcia's double, inching closer to 7-1. However, Jose Ramirez stayed hot in the sixth inning with his third hit, this time a leadoff single, reached second on a walk, and eventually scored on Tyler Freeman's two-out single, stretching the margin by seven again, 8-1. The Royals tacked on two late runs as Freddy Fermin drew a leadoff walk and eventually scored in the eighth, and as MJ Melendez roped a solo home run down the right-field line in the ninth, but the Guardians held on for the final tally, 8-3.
With their win and the Minnesota Twins' 8-7 loss today against the Seattle Mariners, the Guardians cut the Twins' lead in the AL Central to two games. The Guardians (51-51) will travel to face the Chicago White Sox (41-61) tomorrow at 8:10 PM in the first of a four-game series. The Guardians are 2-4 against the White Sox this season. Tanner Bibee (6-2, 3.04 ERA) will take the hill for Cleveland. He held the Phillies scoreless on two hits with eight strike outs in seven innings in his previous outing - a Guardians' 1-0 win.