CLEVELAND GUARDIANS NOTES:
GUARDS DROP HOMESTAND FINALE IN EXTRAS
The Cleveland Guardians came up just short in Sunday’s 10-inning series finale at Progressive Field, dropping a 5-4 decision to the Milwaukee Brewers…snapped a streak of 8 consecutive victories for Cleveland in series finales…club finished 6-game homestand at 4-2 vs. Oakland (3-0) & Milwaukee (1-2)…Guards are 5-3-1 over their last 9 series.
Former Clevelander Owen Miller delivered the game-winner in the top of the 10th with a one-out RBI-double off TREVOR STEPHAN to score Milwaukee’s Auto-Runner and break a 4-4 deadlock that had been in place since the 6th inning…all 8 of those tallies were plated against the contest’s starting pitchers, as neither AARON CIVALE (6.0IP, 6H, 4R-ER, 2BB, 5SO, 94 pitches) nor Corbin Burnes (5.2IP, 8H, 4R-ER, 2BB, 3SO, HR, WP, 99 pitches) factored into the decision…JOSH NAYLOR put Cleveland on the board with a solo homer (10) in the 2nd inning…the Guardians staged a 3-run rally in the 6th, which included an ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ RBI-triple, a run-scoring wild pitch by Burnes and an RBI-single from WILL BRENNAN…the Brewer’s 3-run 3rd inning included RBI-doubles from Christian Yelich and Miller ahead of a Rowdy Telez RBI-single.
Cleveland (37-40) sits in 2nd place in AL Central standings, just 1.5 games behind 1st-place Minnesota (40-40) & 3.0 games ahead of 3rd-place Detroit (-4.5G, 34-43)…Guardians have won 5 of 7, 12 of 20 and 15 of last 26, though have also dropped 34 of last 62 overall since starting the year 9-6.
HEAVY IS THE HEAD
The Cleveland Guardians are scheduled to take on the Kansas City Royals for a 3-game set from Tuesday to Thursday, the first meeting of the two divisional opponents in the 2023 campaign… the Guards went 12-7 against the Royals in 2022, and an even 5-5 at Kauffman Stadium…during the Terry Francona era, Cleveland is 110-71 against Kansas City, the club’s second-most wins against any opponent over that span behind Chicago-AL (113-74), and 50- 39 at Kauffman Stadium…in his career, Francona is 145-93 against the Royals, his second-most wins against any opponent behind Detroit (146-98)…the Clevelanders have lost just one series to Kansas City under Francona (2015, 9-10).
In 139 career games against Royals, JOSÉ RAMÍREZ has a slash line of .271/.350/.495 with 24 HR and 81 RBI…among MLB hitters against Kansas City since 2013, he ranks in extra-base hits (63, T1st), runs (84, 2nd), hits (138, 3rd), RBI (81, 3rd) and home runs (24, 4th)…ANDRÉS GIMÉNEZ is hitting .321 (26-for-81) with 2 home runs and 13 RBI in 27 career games against the Royals, and owns a .366 (15-for-41) batting average at Kauffman Stadium… MYLES STRAW has faced the Royals 30 times in his career and is fashioning a .327 (34-for-104) average against the club with a .358 (24-for-67) clip at Kauffman Stadium.
NO GLOOM HERE
Through 22 games in June, the Guards’ offense is hitting .280 while averaging 4.64 runs/game compared to a .233 mark with 3.41 runs/game in May and a .231 clip with 3.81 runs/game in April…in June, the club ranks 1st in the AL/2nd in MLB behind Atlanta (.306) in batting average (.280), 2nd in the AL/3rd in MLB in hits (217) and
3rd in the AL/8th in MLB in OPS (.754).
CLEVELAND SPLITS BY MONTH, 2023
MONTH G AVG H OPS HR R/GM
April 26 .231 203 .669 17 3.81
May 27 .233 206 .641 16 3.41
June 22 .280 217 .754 17 4.64
THE BOYS ARE BUZZIN
Since May 30, JOSH NAYLOR has hit safely in 19 of 23 games, including multiple hits in 12 of those 19 contests…Naylor (.400 38-for-95) and MIA’s Luis Arraez (.443, 43-for-97) are MLB’s only hitters batting .400-or-better over that stretch…he has raised his batting average from .235 to .291 over this period…among primary first baseman, his 57 RBI ranks 2nd behind ATL’s Matt Olson (60) and his .291 batting average only trails LAD’s Freddie Freeman (.317)…he also leads MLB with 25 RBI in the 7th-inning-or-later ahead of STL’s Nolan Gorman.
JOSÉ RAMÍREZ has hit safely in 15 of his last 17 games and 16 of 21 games this month while scoring in all but 5 contests… in June, he owns a slashline of .330/.381/.625 with 6 home runs and 17 RBI…he ranks among primary third basemen in several categories this season, including hits (85, 1st), total bases (149, 1st), extra-base hits (36, T1st), batting average (.293, 2nd) and OPS (.872, 2nd).
Naylor and Ramírez have combined for 103 of Cleveland’s 279 RBI this season, accounting for 36.9% of the Guardians run production…the 36.9% rate is the highest of any MLB combo of 2 teammates for their respective team, ahead of New York-NL’s Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor (31.9%).
AMED ROSARIO is hitting .313 with 8 RBI through 21 games this month, both monthly-highs this season…the shortstop owns a .295 career batting average in June, his highest of any month… since May 28, WILL BRENNAN has raised his average from .204 to .266, owning a .354 batting average (28-for-79), 4th in MLB over that stretch, with 2 home runs and 10 RBI.
THE GUARDIAC KIDS
The Guardians lead MLB with 33 one-run games out of their 77 games played this season, owning a 15-18 (.455) record in such contests…Cleveland’s 33 one-run contests are T2nd-most in club history through the first 77 games of a season, the most since 1966 when they went 20-13 (.606) over 33 one-run contests… last season, the Guards finished 28-17 (.622) in one-run games, holding the 4th-best win percentage in MLB…the Guardians are the first MLB team with 33-or-more one-run contests in their first 77 games since the 2018 Seattle Mariners (23-11, .676).
MOST CLE ONE-RUN GAMES IN FIRST 77G
YEAR COUNT RECORD (W%)
1918 37 20-17 (.541)
2023 33 15-18 (.455)
1966 33 20-13 (.606)
1910 33 16-12-5 (.561)
The Guards also lead MLB this season with 48 games decided by 2-or-fewer runs, holding a 25-23 record…Cleveland’s 48 contests decided by 2-or-fewer runs are T3rd-most in club history through the first 77 games of a season, the most since 1943 when they went 22-27 (.449) in such contests…Cleveland has the most games decided by 2-or-fewer runs in the first 77 games of a season since the 2014 Pittsburgh Pirates (28-20, .583)…the Guards finished last season with a 43-30 (.589) record in games decided by 2-or-fewer runs, holding the 5th-best win percentage in MLB.
TONIGHT’S STARTER – 63 GAVIN WILLIAMS RHP
WILLIAMS ON THE ROAD, MiLB
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 3-2 2.08 5 5 26.0 14 7 6 13 33
Career 7-3 1.84 19 19 93.0 50 21 19 35 124
WILLIAMS’ MiLB CAREER
W-L ERA G GS IP H R ER BB SO
2023 4-2 2.39 12 12 60.1 35 17 16 24 81
Career 9-6 2.10 37 37 175.1 104 45 41 64 230
TONIGHT’S START
The 6-5, 250-pound 23-year-old right-hander is scheduled to make his second career start on Tuesday in the opener of this 3-game set with the Kansas City Royals…made his MLB debut last Wednesday vs. Oakland…Williams is the organization’s #1 prospect, MLB’s #5 pitching prospect and the #13 prospect overall (MLB.com)…he was selected in the first round, #23 overall, out of East Carolina University by Cleveland in the 2021 MLB Draft… became the 7th different rookie to make their Major League debut for the Guardians this season.
Through 13 starts this season (3 at AA Akron, 9 at AAA Columbus and one with Cleveland), he is 4-2 with a 2.73 ERA (20ER/66.0IP) while striking out 85 and walking 27…opposing batters are hitting .173 (39-for-226) against him.
LAST TIME OUT
Made his MLB debut in a 7-6 victory vs. Oakland on June 21 (5.2IP, 4H, 4R/ER, 3BB, 4SO, 84 pitches/51 strikes)…retired 6 of 7 in the first two innings, allowing a Ryan Noda walk in the 1st… he faced trouble in the 3rd with a Tony Kemp leadoff single, a Tyler Wade double, an Esteury Ruiz RBI single, and a Noda three-run home run that resulted in 4 straight hits and 4 runs for Oakland to start the frame…Williams retired 10 of the final 12 batters he faced, without allowing a hit…the rookie allowed 4-or-more earned runs for the first time in his professional career, yet pitched hitless frames in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th and recorded 2 outs in the 6th without allowing a hit.
ROAD TO THE SHOW
2023: Opened up the season at AA Akron and was lights out in his 3 starts…over 14.1 innings he allowed just one earned run (0.63 ERA) on 6 hits with 20 strikeouts against 3 walks…was promoted to AAA Columbus following his start on April 20…has made 9 starts at Columbus, posting a 3-2 record with a 2.93 ERA (15ER/46.0IP) with 61 punchouts and 21 walks…opposing hitters sported a .186 average (29-for-186)…at the time of his promotion to the bigs, among AAA pitchers (min 45.0IP) he was 2nd in SO/9 (11.93) 4th in WHIP (1.09) and 5th in ERA (2.93)…he has not allowed opposing batters to hit above .190 at any level in his career…over his Minor League career he owns an 11.81 SO/9 and 3.59 SO/BB.
2022: Began his career at High-A Lake County, making a total of 9 starts…went 2-1 with a 1.40 ERA (7ER/45.0IP) with 67 strikeouts and 14 walks…allowed 2+ earned runs in just one start on April 15, 2022 against Dayton, his second professional start…was promoted to AA Akron following his outing on June 3…finished the season with the Rubberducks, going 3-3 in 16 starts…boasted a 2.31 ERA (18ER/70.0IP), 2nd in the Eastern League behind his teammate TANNER BIBEE (1.83), with 82 strikeouts and 26 walks…among Eastern League pitchers (min 70.0IP) he finished with the 2nd-lowest opposing average (.176), 2nd-lowest H/9 (5.66) and 9th-highest SO/9 (10.54).
DAY N’ NITE
In 23 career night game starts he has yet to suffer a loss, going 5-0 while boasting a 1.94 ERA (24ER/111.1IP) with 150 strikeouts against 35 walks, and a 4.29 SO/BB ratio…in 2023, he’s 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA (12ER/40.0IP) in 8 night games…he is 4-6 with a 2.71 ERA (21ER/69.2IP) in 15 career day game starts and 2-2 with a 2.77 ERA (8ER/26.0IP) in 5 day games this season.
ROAD WARRIOR
In 19 career road starts, he has a 7-3 record with a 1.84 ERA (19ER/93.0IP) with 124 strikeouts against 35 walks…he enters today with a 0.91 career road WHIP and is holding hitters to a .157 average (50-for-319) in road outings.
KANSAS CITY ROYALS NOTES:
SPLIT IN ST. PETE: The Royals dropped a 3-1 decision at Tropicana Field on Sunday to settle for a 4-game split against the Major League-leading Rays, while wrapping up with 7-game trip with a 3-4 record…Royals batters were held to 4 hits—all singles—and struck out 17 times, 1 shy of the franchise record for a 9.0-inning game… Daniel Lynch recorded his 2nd straight quality start with 6.0 innings of 1-run ball, and exited with the game tied at 1-1 in the 7th, when the Rays took the lead vs. Taylor Clarke on 1 hit, 2 walks, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly.
ROSTER MOVE: The Royals announced yesterday that infielder/outfielder Nate Eaton was optioned to Triple-A Omaha…today, they announced the corresponding move, as Kyle Isbel was returned from his rehab assignment and reinstated from the 10-day Injured List…Isbel missed more than seven weeks after suffering a strained left hamstring on May 4 vs. Baltimore…in 9 rehab games with Omaha, Isbel hit .290 (9-for-31) with 2 HR.
TRIP TRACKER: The Royals went 3-4 on last week’s 7-game trip to Detroit (1-2) and Tampa Bay (2-2), in which they alternated wins and losses, with defeats bookending the trip…the Royals were outscored 38-28 (-10) but hit 8 homers while allowing only 6…but the offense went 14-for-63 (.222) in scoring situations and scored 4 runs or fewer in 5 of the 7 games…the starting rotation, which enters tonight 26th in the Majors in innings pitched, completed at least 6.0 innings in all but 2 of the games on the trip, 1 of which was started by an opener.
ROYAL RUNDOWN: The Royals enter tonight 22-56, which marks the 2nd-worst record in the Majors ahead of Oakland (20-60) and is the worst 78-game start in franchise history, 2 games behind the 2018 Royals, who were 24-54 at this point…this series’ final game on Thursday will mark the halfway point of the 162-game schedule.
The Royals are winless in their last 11 series—including nine losses and two series splits—dating back to May 15-17, when they won 2 of 3 games in San Diego…it’s tied for the 3rd-longest winless series streak within the same season in franchise history, according to Elias, trailing only a run of 16 straight winless series from April 15-June 9, 2019 and 12 consecutive winless sets from June 26-Aug. 9, 2009.
The Royals split last weekend’s 4-game series vs. the Major League-leading Rays (54-27), which snapped a run of six consecutive losing series, dating back to a 2-game split in St. Louis from May 29-30.
OFF BEAT: The Royals enjoyed their 10th off day yesterday and their first on a Monday since May 1…yesterday’s break in the schedule was Kansas City’s only off day during a current stretch of 24 days, which began on June 16 and won’t end until the All-Star break…the rest has not been kind to the Royals this season, as they’re 0-9 in games following an off day and have been outscored 52-24 (-28), including 4 shutout losses.
BACK TO THE FUTURE: Major League Baseball last night announced the rosters for the 2023 SiriusXM AllStar Futures Game, which will be played on Saturday, July 8 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle…the game is scheduled for 7.0 innings and will begin at 6:00 p.m. CT exclusively on Peacock and SiriusXM…right hander Will Klein will represent the Royals in the Futures Game…Klein, 23, has recorded a 3.31 ERA (13 ER in 35.1 IP) with 55 strikeouts (14.0 K/9) in 25 appearances this season between Double-A Northwest Arkansas (21) and Triple-A Omaha (4).
ROYALS EN ESPAÑOL: The Royals announced last week the continuation of their partnership with Tico Sports to produce Spanish-language broadcasts for 14 games this season, including all remaining Sunday and Tuesday home games, which will be available on the MLB app and on Tico’s website in the Kansas City area…Oscar Monterroso, Tico founder and owner with experience calling Chiefs games, will serve as analyst…Héctor García, who called Royals games for Tico Sports in 2021, and Adan Manzano, who also calls Kansas City Roos basketball, will do play by play…Hannah Bassham, who called Royals games on Tico Sports in 2021 and has previous experience on the sideline for Chiefs broadcasts, will also be an analyst.
SALVY SPLASHES: Salvador Perez is sitting on 499 career extra-base hits, which is tied with Royals Hall of Famer Mike Sweeney for 6th most in franchise history…with his next extra-base hit, Salvy will become one of six Royals to record 500, and will join Hall of Famer George Brett (1,119), Hal McRae (681), Frank White (625), Amos Otis (623) and Alex Gordon (573)…his 499 extra-base hits are tied with Xander Bogaerts for 26th among active players, a list that’s headed by Miguel Cabrera (1,141), who has 290 more than Nelson Cruz (851), the next closest player…Salvy’s 499 extra-base hits rank 21st all-time among primary catchers (min. 75% games played at the position), 5 shy of Jason Kendall (504) for 20th…that list is headed by Hall of Famer Iván Rodríguez (934).
VS. CLEVELAND: The Royals and Guardians are playing their 1st of 13 games tonight…this marks the latest date on the calendar for the 1st matchup between these teams (excluding 2020) since 1996, when they played their 1st of 13 games on July 1…after playing 78 games before their 1st game vs. Cleveland, the Royals and Guardians will play 7 games over the next 13 days, including a 4-game set in Cleveland to end the 1st half.
The Royals went 7-12 vs. the Guardians in 2022, losing the season series for the sixth time in the last seven seasons since 2016, with the only exception being a 5-5 split in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.
The Royals are 6-14 vs. American League Central opponents this season, including a 1-5 record in series play…tonight begins a stretch in which the Royals will play 10 of their next 13 games within the division through the All-Star break, the only exception being a 3-game series vs. the Dodgers this weekend.
ROYALS ON THE MEND: The Royals have 12 players on the Injured List—including six players who were on the Opening Day roster—which are tied for the 2nd most in the Majors as of this morning, according to Spotrac, trailing only the Dodgers (15)…Kansas City’s 12 current injuries include eight pitchers—five of which have made at least 1 start this season—and two position players who were in the starting lineup on Opening Day.
Ryan Yarbrough continued his rehab assignment Saturday night with Triple-A Omaha and pitched 4.0 scoreless innings in his 2nd rehab start and 1st with Omaha, as he recovers from skull fractures suffered from a comebacker on May 7 vs. the A’s.
Outfielder Diego Hernandez went 2-for-4 last night while playing all 9.0 innings in center field in the Arizona Complex League…he’s 8-for-16 in 4 rehab games, and has been on the 60-day Injured List since March 30 after he suffered a dislocated right shoulder early in Spring Training.
Left hander Angel Zerpa continued his rehab assignment Friday night at Double-A, and allowed 1 run on 4 hits and no walks over 4.0 innings, with 5 strikeouts…Zerpa, who was placed on the 60-day IL on March 15 with left shoulder tendinopathy, has a 1.13 ERA (1 ER in 8.0 IP) in 3 rehab starts.
Left hander Amir Garrett made his 1st rehab appearance Thursday night with Triple-A Omaha, and issued 3 walks to the five batters he faced, but recorded 2 outs and was not charged with a run…Garrett has been on the Injured List since June 2 with left elbow valgus extension overload.
Brad Keller, who last pitched on May 15 at San Diego, due to a right shoulder impingement, will begin a rehab assignment tomorrow with Omaha.
Vinnie Pasquantino had successful surgery last week to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and is expected to miss the rest of the year.
TONIGHT’S STARTERS: RHP BRADY SINGER (4-7, 6.34)
BRADY SINGER is making his 16th start of the season and 79th of his career tonight vs. Cleveland…it’s his 9th start vs. the Guardians and 1st this season…Singer is in his fourth season in the Majors and was selected by Kansas City in the 1st round (18th overall) of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Florida.
THE LAST TIME: Singer suffered his 7th loss of the season in Kansas City’s 9-4 defeat last Wednesday in Detroit, in which he was charged with 5 runs on 7 hits and 1 walk in a season-high 7.0 innings, with 2 strikeouts…staked to a 2-0 lead in the top of the 2nd, Singer yielded a 3-run bottom half on 3 hits and a walk, including a 2-run double by Eric Haase…Singer allowed back-to-back 1-out doubles in the 3rd to plate a 4th run, after which he retired 13 of his last 15 batters, allowing only a solo HR to Zack Short in the 5th and a single by Matt Vierling to begin the 7th…the Royals offense rallied with a single tally in both the 8th and 9th, but Jackson Kowar allowed 4 unearned runs in the bottom of the 8th inning, which put the game out of reach.
I’M STILL STANDING: Following a breakout season in 2022, Brady has struggled through ups and downs this year, as he’s been charged with at least 4 earned runs in 8 of his 15 starts, something that happened in only 5 of his 24 starts last season… the Royals, predictably, are 1-7 in games that he allows at least 4 earned runs… but on the flip side, he’s held opponents to 2 earned runs or fewer in his other 7 starts, in which the Royals are 5-2…after going 2-4 with an 8.82 ERA (33 ER in 33.2 IP) and 7 HR allowed in his 1st 7 starts, he’s 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA (21 ER In 43.0 IP) with only 3 homers allowed in his last 8 starts…the Royals are 6-9 in his 15 starts overall.
WALK THIS WAY: Brady has recorded at least 5.0 innings without issuing a walk in 13 of his 39 starts since last season—including 4 such starts this year—matching Kevin Gausman, Aaron Nola, Jameson Taillon and George Kirby for the 2nd-most such starts in the Majors during that time, trailing only Corey Kluber (15)…but on the flip side, Singer has issued multiple walks in 10 of his 15 starts this season, 2 more than his total of multi-walk starts from all of last season, when he made 24 starts…he’s walked 29 batters in 76.2 innings this year for a 3.4 BB/9, up from his 2.1 BB/9 last season.
CALL ME MAYBE: In 39 starts since his recall on May 17 of last season, Brady has induced a called strike on 736 of 3,704 pitches (19.9%), 4th most in the Majors behind Logan Webb (775), Gerrit Cole (758) and Aaron Nola (739)…his rate of 19.9% called strikes since May 17, 2022 leads the Majors (min. 3,000 pitches), ahead of Sonny Wray (17.6%), and since his 2020 debut season, Singer’s called-strike rate of 20.7% ranks 2nd in the Majors (min. 5,000 pitches), trailing Adam Wainwright (20.8%).
CAN’T TOUCH THIS: Singer has recorded 409 strikeouts in 422.2 innings since his 2020 debut for an 8.7 K/9, which is the best rate in Royals history among pitchers who’ve started at least 70 games, ahead of Ian Kennedy (8.4), Jakob Junis (8.1) and Danny Duffy (8.1)…his 409 strikeouts are tied with Steve Busby for the most
by a Royal through 81 career appearances…to keep his lead through 82 outings, he needs 2 strikeouts to pass Junis (410), 3 to pass Busby (411) and 4 to pass the late Yordano Ventura, who had 412 strikeouts through his 1st 82 appearances.
DON’T STOP BELIEVIN’: Singer has had success in his career following a Royals loss, and he’ll attempt to be the stopper again tonight after Kansas City’s 3-1 defeat on Sunday…in 49 career outings following a Royals loss, Singer is 17-13 with a 3.87 ERA (111 ER in 258.0 IP), and all 4 of his wins this season have followed a Royals loss.
CLEVELAND IS THE REASON: Brady is 2-1 with a 4.88 ERA (26 ER in 48.0 IP) in 9 career outings (8 starts) vs. Cleveland…that includes an 11-1 win on Sept. 10, 2020, when Singer lost a no-hitter in the 8th inning but completed 8.0 scoreless frames with just the 1 hit allowed…his most recent win over the Guardians came two seasons ago, on Sept. 20, 2021 in Cleveland, where he allowed just 2 runs over 7.0 innings in a 7-2 victory…but in 4 outings (3 starts) vs. the Guardians last season, Singer went 0-1 with a 6.65 ERA (16 ER in 21.2 IP) and allowed a HR in all 4 games.
WHO SAYS YOU CAN’T GO HOME: Singer is 2-4 with a 5.84 ERA (29 ER in 44.2 IP) in 9 starts at Kauffman Stadium this season…more recently, he’s 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA (4 ER in 16.0 IP) in his last 3 home starts, with 18 strikeouts (10.1 K/9) and no home runs allowed…in his last start here on June 16 vs. the Angels, Brady suffered a 3-0 loss despite allowing only 2 runs on 8 hits in 5.1 innings, with 5 strikeouts.
