CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Guardians have played in four doubleheaders this season, and have now fallen to 0-8 in those games.
Since the start of 2023, the Guardians are 1-17 in doubleheaders.
Cleveland lost to Kansas City 4-2 in the opener of Monday’s day-night doubleheader, and they were defeated again roughly five hours later 9-4.
“I think we’re still in a good place,” manager Stephen Vogt said. “Obviously, we need to play better. Obviously, we need to play more consistent. It was a tough day. For me, it’s stay the course, and keep doing what we’re doing.”
The Guardians are now 2-6 against the Royals this season, with a one-game lead ahead of Kansas City in the American League Central.
Here’s how it happened.
Game 2:
Royals catcher Salvador Perez did damage to the Guardians in the second game of the doubleheader. He blasted a Logan Allen sweeper 402 feet in the fifth inning. In his next at-bat in the sixth inning against Tim Herrin, he hit his sixth career grand slam 457 feet to the left-field bleachers.
It was Perez’s 17th career multi-homer game, tying him with George Brett for the most such games in Royals franchise history. Perez also had six RBIs, a new single-game career high for the nine-time All-Star.
Kansas City scored in five straight innings. Logan Allen pitched five innings, giving up five runs on eight hits with four walks. He struck out one batter in 76 pitches in his 20th major league start of the season.
Most of Cleveland’s production on offense came in the first inning, as the first four batters in the game reached base safely. Steven Kwan and Andres Gimenez scored on a double by Jose Ramirez to right field.
Ramirez got to third base on the play on an error by Kansas City’s right fielder Dairon Blanco. Ramirez scored on another error in the inning by the Royals. He’s now tied for seventh most RBIs in franchise history with Ken Keltner (850).
Ramirez hit two more doubles. It’s the fourth time in his career that he’s hit three doubles in a game. He now has 31 doubles this season, marking the third time in franchise history that a player has hit 30 doubles, 30 homers, and recorded 30 stolen bases in one season. Ramirez did it in 2018, and Grady Sizemore was the first to do it in club history in 2008.
The Guardians were hitless following the first inning until Daniel Schneemann took the batter's box in the fourth. Schneemann hit his fifth major league homer 392 feet to right field to reclaim a lead that wouldn’t last long.
Cleveland’s pitching coach Carl Willis was ejected in the sixth inning by home plate umpire John Tumpane. It was the first time he’s been ejected from a game since 2017 when he was with the Red Sox organization.
“I respect the umpires,” Willis said. “They have a really difficult job. During my time, I’ve enjoyed the relationships, but that doesn’t supersede how I feel about our pitchers.”
It was the second time that Cleveland had been on the wrong side of a foul-tip, strike-three call in as many innings. In both cases, Kansas City got a hit on the very next pitch.
Game 1:
Two swings were all it took for the Royals to win the series opener 4-3. MJ Melendez hit a three-run homer off Eli Morgan in the fourth inning, and Bobby Witt Jr. snapped a 3-3 tie in the eighth inning with a leadoff home run.
Witt launched a 0-1 pitch 413 feet to left field for his 27th homer of the year. It was just the third home run given up by Hunter Gaddis at home this season.
“He’s as good as it gets in this game,” catcher Austin Hedges said about Witt. “He impacts the game as good as anybody. If you make a mistake, he always takes his ‘A’ swing.”
Reliever Nick Sandlin made his first major league start for Cleveland in Game 1 of Monday’s doubleheader. Sandlin pitched one scoreless inning and was followed by five pitchers who combined to record the remaining 24 outs in the ballgame.
Joey Cantillo pitched the final 1.2 innings for the Guardians. Cantillo struck out one batter and did not allow a hit, run, or walk. He was recalled from Triple-A Columbus as the 27th man for the doubleheader on Monday morning.
Cleveland took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Royals starter Cole Ragans walked Steven Kwan with the bases loaded with one out, and Tyler Freeman scored during Jose Ramirez’s at-bat on a passed ball. The inning ended after Ramirez flew out to left.
“It would have been great to break the game open there,” Vogt said. “It’s not easy. It’s not easy by any means. I think that’s really where the momentum stopped.”
Up Next:
The Guardians will try to salvage the four-game home series against the Royals on Tuesday. Gavin Williams (2-6, 5.13 ERA) will make his first appearance against Kansas City this season. Williams is 1-3 with a 7.36 ERA across four starts in August. Michael Lorenzen (7-6, 3.47 ERA) will take the mound for the Royals.
