The Kansas City Royals aim to complete a four-game sweep of the Cleveland Guardians on Wednesday, having already won three consecutive games in Cleveland. With Michael Wacha on the mound, the Royals are looking to extend their winning streak to five games and claim the top spot in the AL Central. Before this series, the Royals trailed the Guardians by three games. They have since swept a doubleheader on Monday and secured a 6-1 victory on Tuesday, evening their record with Cleveland for the division lead.
The Royals have won 10 of their last 13 games and hold the tiebreaker over the Guardians with a 7-2 record against them. “This means a lot for our group, to let us know what we have in front of us,” said Kansas City’s Paul DeJong, who hit a two-run home run in the second inning on Tuesday. “Just rally around each other and try to win a game every day. We’re not done yet.” Since joining the Royals from the Chicago White Sox, DeJong has batted .304 with five home runs and 12 RBIs in 19 games, including two homers this week against the Guardians.
Cleveland has struggled recently, losing nine of their last 12 games and falling to a 24-32 record since holding a nine-game lead in the Central on June 25. Guardians manager Stephen Vogt remains optimistic. “A couple of weeks’ stretch doesn’t define who we are,” Vogt said. “We’ve got to relax and go be ourselves. … We’ve got an opportunity (Wednesday) to get a win.”
The Guardians face a challenging task against Wacha, who is 7-0 with a 2.40 ERA over his last 10 starts. The Royals are 9-1 in those games, with Wacha winning five consecutive starts. On Friday, Wacha allowed six hits but no walks and just two runs in a 7-4 win over Philadelphia. “Just keep trending in that right direction,” Wacha said. “The main thing is keep building, never being satisfied with where you’re at and always getting better.” His successful run began with a 2-1 victory against Cleveland on June 27. Wacha is 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA in four career starts against the Guardians.
Cleveland will counter with Tanner Bibee (10-6, 3.46 ERA), who struggled in his last outing, allowing four runs in the second inning of a 5-3 loss to Texas. Bibee had previously been strong, going 3-1 with a 1.65 ERA over his prior five starts. “Back is against the wall. At that point, it’s just trying to figure out how many (innings) I can get through,” Bibee said. “It’s just riding the highs and lows.” He has been effective against the Royals, with a 1-0 record and a 2.81 ERA in three career starts. In two starts against Kansas City this season, Bibee has allowed four earned runs and struck out 10 without issuing a walk.
Royals outfielder MJ Melendez is 0-for-7 against Bibee but has hit .438 over his last four games. Despite the Guardians’ recent offensive struggles, rookie Daniel Schneeman has been performing well, hitting .450 in his last six games.
