Game Recap 7/6/23 | Guardians Win 6-1 over Royals

Observations from the Game

3 things about Guardians Victory over Kansas City Royals

1 – Home run Deja vu 

With the rain delay, it felt like the game was a 1-1 snoozer at times until the bottom of the 6th when Jose Ramirez and Josh Naylor hit back-to-back jacks to ignite the offense that would score two more in the inning to put the game away. 

2 – Battling Bibee 

Tanner Bibee did a great job grinding out a start on a night when he did not have his best stuff.  Bibee went five innings and only gave up one run when the Royals had multiple opportunities to score.  

3 – Bo Naylor 

The Guardians rookie catcher Bo Naylor had an 0 for 18 streak going into the 6th inning but found his stroke getting an RBI double breaking his hitless run. 

Game Summary

The Cleveland Guardians dominated the Kansas City Royals in a 6-1 victory on Thursday night as José Ramírez and Josh Naylor both launched home runs on consecutive pitches during the sixth inning. Ramírez crushed a left-field homer, while Naylor, returning from a two-game absence due to right wrist tendinitis, drove one over the right-field wall against reliever Amir Garrett (0-1).

Cleveland’s Andrés Giménez also contributed to the home run parade, adding his own homer. This win brought the Guardians back to a .500 record for the first time since April 28 when they were 13-13.

Eli Morgan (4-1) delivered a scoreless inning, followed by Enyel De Los Santos, Trevor Stephan, and Nick Sandlin, who combined for a solid six-hitter.

Due to light rain, the game’s start was delayed by 81 minutes until 8:31 p.m.

After losing two out of three games to the formidable Atlanta Braves, the Guardians entered the match with optimism against the struggling Kansas City Royals, who held the worst record in the American League and were shut out for the tenth time just the day before.

However, Kansas City’s starting pitcher, Jordan Lyles, with 11 losses to his name, limited Cleveland to only one run in the first five innings.

Ramírez changed the game’s momentum with his swing, blasting a 3-2 pitch from Garrett over the fence for his 14th home run. A fan leaned over the railing and made a fantastic catch with his glove, prompting the umpires to review the play to confirm it as a legal homer.

Naylor followed suit, leaving no doubt about his home run, as he smashed Garrett’s next pitch into the right-field seats for his 11th long ball of the season.

During that eventful inning, the Guardians added two more runs, with rookie Bo Naylor breaking his 0-for-19 slump by hitting an RBI double.

Giménez ignited the scoring in the second inning with a towering shot into the right-field seats, tying the game 1-1 with his eighth home run.

After the rain delay, the Royals, who were shut out by the Minnesota Twins the previous day, took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning against rookie pitcher Tanner Bibee when Bobby Witt Jr. singled, stole second base, and scored on Nick Pratto’s one-out hit.

Although Bibee wasn’t at his sharpest, he managed to navigate through five innings by escaping three troublesome situations. In the fourth inning, center fielder Myles Straw made a sliding catch to retire the side, preventing the Royals from scoring with two runners on base.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Cal Quantrill (shoulder inflammation) is back on the injured list after two rough outings. Quantrill gave up a career-high 11 hits in 4 1/3 innings against Atlanta on Wednesday night. He won’t be shut down and will continue to play catch while being monitored.

Up Next

Friday 7/7 7:10 PM EST – Game 2 of 4 vs Royals