The Cleveland Guardians and the Kansas City Royals will be among the teams vying for the AL Central crown this year.
They both showed their competitiveness on Thursday’s season opener at Kauffman Stadium, in a game that featured multiple lead changes, blown saves, and late rallies.
When everything was said and done, Cleveland ended up prevailing 7-4 in a hard-fought extra-innings win.
Guardians’ star closer Emmanuel Clase blew a 4-3 lead in the ninth but hung on to send the game to extras and not lose it.
In the top of the tenth, Steven Kwan produced one with a double, and the man of the game, Kyle Manzardo, plated two more with his own two-bagger.
Manzardo, even starting against a lefty, was the afternoon’s MVP for Cleveland.
His first hit was a stand-up triple in the fourth, then he homered in the sixth.
He finished the day just a single shy of the cycle, going 3-for-4 with two runs, four RBI, and nine total bases.
#Guardians win season opener 7-4 in 10 innings over the #Royals.
Manzardo 3-for-4 with 4 RBI, just a single shy of the cycle
— 92.3 The Fan (@923TheFan) March 27, 2025
If the Guardians have Manzardo to thank for the prolific game, an honorable mention should go to Ben Lively.
The veteran gave the Guards five solid innings in which he surrendered three runs on four hits, with no walks and three punchouts.
The most impressive thing is that he did it with virtually no preparation, as he volunteered to fill in for Tanner Bibee as the latter reported an illness that prevented him from making his scheduled start.
The two squads will return to play on Saturday afternoon after an off day on Friday.
NEXT: Tanner Bibee Scratched From Opening Day Start
