The Cleveland Guardians will attempt to move over .500 for the first time since April 19 when they play the third contest of their four-game home series against the Kansas City Royals on Saturday.
The Guardians (44-44) evened their record after posting five wins in their past seven games, including a 6-1 victory in the series opener versus the Royals on Thursday and a 3-0 triumph on Friday. The recent success has allowed Cleveland to nip at the heels of the first-place Minnesota Twins in the American League Central.
“What matters is where we are in the standings, and where we’re going to end up in the standings,” Guardians manager Terry Francona said. “Hopefully this is a jumping off point more than anything.”
Josh Bell highlighted Cleveland’s most recent win by belting a two-run homer in the fourth inning on Friday.
“The most important thing is for us to take care of what we know we can take care of,” Bell told Bally Sports Cleveland. “In our division, we have to win games. Once we get clicking, once we get going, things will definitely click. At the end of the season, we’ll know we will be over .500.”
Bell is batting a robust .400 (22-for-55) with four homers and 13 RBIs in his career against Kansas City.
Like Bell, the Guardians have enjoyed success versus the Royals this season. Cleveland has won four of five meetings this season, outscoring Kansas City 28-7 in the process.
Guardians rookie Gavin Williams (0-1, 3.79 ERA) will square off against the Royals’ Brady Singer (5-7, 5.52) in a battle of right-handers on Saturday.
Williams, 23, sustained the first loss of his career after allowing four runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings in a 4-2 setback to the Atlanta Braves on Monday.
“It’s a pretty good lineup and I definitely didn’t have my best stuff,” Williams said, per Cleveland.com. “I left some pitches over the plate and it showed.”
Williams will make his fourth career start and second versus Kansas City on Saturday. He threw seven scoreless innings on the road June 27, giving up one hit and a walk and striking out six.
Singer, 26, put a halt to a four-game winless stretch by yielding one run on four hits in seven innings of a 9-1 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.
“Hopefully, we gain a lot more confidence,” Singer said after that game. “We haven’t lacked confidence all year long. We’re just going to work every day working hard and trying to get better. It paid off this series. Hopefully, it turns into a good run for us.”
Unfortunately for the Royals, it hasn’t. They have lost five in a row since that contest to fall to 41 games under .500 (25-64).
Singer owns a 2-1 record with a 4.33 ERA in 10 career appearances (nine starts) versus Cleveland. He pitched well in his most recent encounter versus the Guardians, scattering four hits over six scoreless innings in a no-decision on June 27.
Bobby Witt Jr. had one of Kansas City’s two hits on Friday. He has hit safely in seven of his past eight games, going 11-for-31 with seven RBIs and four runs scored over that span.
–Field Level Media
