The Guardians left town on Friday with their postseason hopes in jeopardy.
Following two dramatic walk‑off wins and a seven‑game winning streak, Cleveland returns home with renewed confidence.
Tanner Bibee (5‑13, 3.97 ERA) of Cleveland will face Royals right‑hander Michael Wacha (7‑8, 3.49 ERA) in a key AL Central matchup Friday night.
The Guardians, riding the majors’ longest winning streak, now lead the Texas Rangers by two games for the American League’s final wild‑card berth and have cut the gap to the first‑place Chicago White Sox to 2½ games in the division.
“You want to be one of those hot teams going into the playoffs,” Guardians outfielder Steven Kwan said. “And that’s where we want to go.”
Cleveland capped its road trip with two late‑inning comebacks against the Los Angeles Angels, securing 8‑6 and 4‑3 victories on successive nights.
Down 3‑1, the Angels saw Nathaniel Lowe tie the game in the eighth. In the ninth, Steven Kwan drove in Petey Halpin with a double, and Travis Bazzana delivered a go‑ahead sacrifice fly.
“We just trusted the plan, believed in each other, and came out on top,” Kwan said.
Earlier in the game, Travis Bazzana escaped serious injury after a line drive from Jose Ramirez struck his right forearm, leaving a baseball‑shaped imprint of the seams.
Ramirez was officially credited with a hit under MLB scoring rules.
“I looked at my arm, and those seams were imprinted from immediate contact, but it feels fine,” Bazzana said. “That was probably the hardest I’ve ever been hit by a baseball.”
Tanner Bibee snapped a four‑game losing streak with six innings of two‑run ball against the Colorado Rockies on Saturday, delivering a 4‑3 win. He is 1‑4 with a 4.34 ERA in six starts since July 25.
The Royals defeated Bibee for the first time this season, yet he remains 4‑1 with a 3.53 ERA against them in ten career games, allowing eight home runs in their last nine encounters.
Kansas City entered Cleveland on a surge, having won ten of its last eleven games, highlighted by a 13‑2 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays on Thursday. Nonetheless, the Royals’ late‑season streak comes too late for a postseason push.
Jac Caglianone erupted for a career‑high six RBIs, including a home run off outfielder Myles Straw, while scoring three runs and going 5‑for‑6 in the Royals’ most recent win. Meanwhile, catcher Carter Jensen became the first player ever to hit five leadoff home runs in a single season.
“Nobody ever wants to try and hit homers,” Caglianone said. “I am trying to stay within myself and ease up off the gas pedal. Do what you do well, and the results will be there. But you have to buy into that, knowing that your skill set is good enough to play here.”
Michael Wacha has been stellar during the Royals’ recent hot stretch, winning both his starts against the Detroit Tigers and the Athletics and allowing just five runs over twelve innings. The two‑time All‑Star also sports a 2‑0 record versus the Guardians this season, posting a 1.93 ERA across his two appearances.
Wacha holds a career 4‑2 record with a 2.35 ERA against Cleveland in ten starts.
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