Royals fall to Guardians, 6-3, as offense continues to sputter

Jaylon Thompson, The Kansas City Star on Apr 12, 2025

Published in Baseball

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CLEVELAND — The Kansas City Royals found themselves in a familiar spot Saturday night against the Cleveland Guardians.

The Royals ran into more good pitching. And the offense continued to struggle to score runs and support the pitching staff.

As a result, Cleveland picked up a 6-3 victory and clinched the early April series at Progressive Field.

KC grabbed a brief lead in the fourth inning. First baseman Vinnie Pasquantino hit a solo home run off Guardians starter Luis Ortiz. It was Pasquantino’s second home run and first since Opening Day on March 27.

Pasquantino drilled a 96.2-mph fastball over the right-field wall. However, the Royals couldn’t damage Ortiz the rest of the way.

Ortiz recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. He dominated the strike zone with his fastball and cutter combination. Both pitches induced weak contact and multiple swing-and-misses.

The Royals registered a combined 29 swings and 11 whiffs on the fastballs. Pasquantino had three of the Royals’ six hits on Saturday.

The Guardians broke the game open late. Gabriel Arias, who has been a thorn in the Royals’ side, hit a solo home run in the sixth inning. He finished with two RBIs.

Guardians outfielder Angel Martinez hit a ground-rule double in the eighth inning off Royals reliever Sam Long to secure the victory.

Royals starter Michael Lorenzen took the loss. He allowed three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings with four strikeouts.

The Royals fell to 7-8. They have been held to three or fewer runs in five straight games — and nine times (out of 15 games) this season.

Here are more notable aspects of Saturday’s game:

India exits in 6th inning

Kansas City Royals infielder Jonathan India exited Saturday’s game against the Cleveland Guardians.

In the sixth inning, India reached base on a one-out walk. He advanced to third after Pasquantino hit a single down the right-field line.

India remained in the game for the remainder of the Royals' at-bats. However, he was replaced in the bottom half of the inning.

Royals outfielder Drew Waters came into the game to replace India, who has a quad injury.

What’s next?

The Royals conclude their three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians on Sunday afternoon. Cole Ragans (0-0, 2.81 ERA) will make his fourth start against Guardians right-hander Ben Lively (0-1, 4.40 ERA) at Progressive Field.