Royals struggle to get offense going in 7-0 loss to Guardians

Jaylon Thompson, The Kansas City Star on Apr 11, 2025

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

CLEVELAND — The Kansas City Royals’ offensive cold spells continued against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.

It was a chilly Friday night for both teams. However, the Royals struggled to find warmth within their starting lineup. KC managed five hits and committed three errors in a 7-0 loss to the Guardians.

The Royals (7-7) have been inconsistent this season. There are some nights the offense clicks and rolls on all cylinders. Other nights, the Royals are stuck spinning their wheels and looking for a spark.

Friday’s game can be filed in the latter column. KC didn’t mount much offense against Guardians starter Tanner Bibee as he didn’t allow a run in 4 2/3 innings.

When the Royals did generate offense, there were uncharacteristic mistakes that thwarted a potential rally.

In the fourth inning, Royals outfielder Drew Waters was thrown out attempting to steal second base with two outs. It was an advantageous 2-1 count for Royals catcher Freddy Fermin at the plate.

Waters was aggressive looking to get into scoring position. It just didn’t work out in the Royals’ favor.

Two innings later, the Royals were forced out of another scoring chance. After team captain Salvador Perez singled, he drifted too far away from the first-base bag during Vinnie Pasquantino’s at-bat.

Pasquantino hit a short pop-up to right field. Guardians second baseman Gabriel Arias raced to corral the baseball. He made the play and threw back to first base to catch Perez still in-between the bases. Perez was doubled off the base paths. Next, Royals outfielder Hunter Renfroe flew out and the inning was over.

The Guardians took advantage late. Arias hit a three-run homer in the fourth inning and Cleveland (7-6) added four runs in the eighth.

KC finished 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position and left six men on base. This season, the Royals have scored four runs or fewer in 12 of 14 games.