The Cleveland Guardians didn’t exactly kick off their four-game series against the Kansas City Royals on the right foot.
Owners of a three-game lead in the AL Central before taking the field, the Guards lost a tough, closely contested 4-3 game on Monday afternoon.
It was the first leg of a doubleheader, and it means the Royals have now shrunk the Guardians lead in the division to just two games.
Game over. Royals come back to top the #Guardians 4-3 in Game 1 of their doubleheader at Progressive Field.
Cleveland falls to 75-56 on the season. The Royals are back to 2 games behind the Guards in the AL Central Division.
— Nick Camino (@NickCaminoWKYC) August 26, 2024
A Bobby Witt Jr. solo home run in the eighth inning against the typically reliable Hunter Gaddis broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Royals a lead they wouldn’t relinquish again.
It was Cleveland the one who struck first, though, scoring twice in the second frame with a bases-loaded walk and a passed ball.
With Eli Morgan on the mound, MJ Melendez belted a three-run home run in the fourth frame to flip the scoreboard in Kansas City’s favor.
Josh Naylor, whose bat appears to be slowly waking up after a recent slump, had an RBI single that knotted the score at three runs apiece in the bottom of the seventh.
Witt, however, showed exactly why he is an AL MVP candidate right up there with Aaron Judge, giving his team the lead with a solo homer in a tough spot against an elite reliever.
Reliever John Schreiber won the game in relief, Gaddis lost it and Lucas Erceg earned his eighth save of the year for the Royals.
The two teams will play the second game of the doubleheader later on Monday.
If Cleveland loses, Kansas City would trim their division deficit to just one game with two more to play with the Guards this week.
The Guardians would restore the gap to three games with a victory on Monday night.
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