Bullpen Takeover | Royals Relievers Combine for Clutch Outings to Secure Series Win

Right now, the slimmest margins for the Cleveland Guardians, they have a record of 75 and 57. That is one game better than the Royals 2.5 games better than Minnesota. There's a lot more at stake because this is for first place. Gavin Williams big rig on the hill, Kansas City. They are hitting on all cylinders right now. So gavin Williams has his work cut out for him tonight for gavin. He's making his 11 start on the year looking for his first win at home. He is 0 to 4 in his four starts , but last year he faced the Royals three times as a rookie. He went 1 to 0 with a 162. Er, a pitched brilliantly 18 strikeouts and a 0.96 whip. They need him to get off to a start like that tonight. Right hander against sprain hander. He won game one yesterday with an eighth inning homer. Now the pitch check swing and he went around on high heat Williams with a strikeout his first two down. What a great first inning for Gavin Williams, a nine inning Royals go in a hurry Guardians coming to Michael Lorenzen has made four starts for the Royals. One of his starts with Texas was perhaps his best and it was against Cleveland on a half swing grounds out to Bobby Jr one away. So Michael Lorenzen retires the Guardians in order in the bottom of the first inning off the second at progressive field and Salvador Perez leads off against right hander Gavin Williams is not. Salvador Perez continues to mash , he's got the first hit of the game for either team on at first with nobody out in the top of the second innings battled. He saw nine pitches but ultimately, he's the first out of the inning tossed to first and back standing is Perez. Salvador. Perez is any threat to steal. It makes no sense. He has even tried for a stolen base outfield deep and around to left for the young that's well hit to right center field. It will go into the third row, goes to the opposite field. Look at that, that's straight 98. You look at that compact swing of time. A long way to powerful hitters. Kansas City. We've seen all of their trade deadline acquisitions make an impact here in two days in Cleveland, two nothing Royals, middle of the second draws a four pitch walk to the bottom of the second hit of the game for the Guardian and they've got runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out and lefty Daniel S is coming to play, he delivers rolls it to first over to second for one relay. A first with the lens covering time. Brian Sweeney is going to come out. And so is trainer chris Delus. You wonder if that stretch did anything to him because it looked like he was trying to act like a first base when he got hustle right here. He took a split right here. I think he's a little bit at the end that was on the back. I didn't see it a little bit. No, he was fine there right there. Yeah, I think that's what it is. So they'll trust the 32 year old veteran that he knows his body here and that he still has enough to get the Royals out of this inning 1st and 3rd 1 out and Lane Thomas at the plate. Here's the pitch check, swing on a sweeper low and away appeal to first. He went around strike three. Now, Michael Lorenzen gets his first strike out of the game in a big spot and he does it with his best weapon against a right handed batter the sweeper. Oh Naylor, he bounced around on his leg after that pitch and Then he looked into the Royals dugout and here comes Maro with chris de Lucia again and that's a shame in frustration. Breen just drops his glove on the mound and carlos Hernandez gets the call and he'll get all the time. He needs to warm up. This is not a role he's accustomed to. Heads to the clubhouse. It's been all fastballs from carlos so far. Three and two. Count two outs, breaking ball swung on and missed strike three nasty knuckle curve. Carlos Hernandez gets the K and strands a pair. He finishes off the inning for Michael Lonzo. That was filthy. Williams back to work for the Guardians. Here's the 12 pitch swung on and that slap to short diving stop from his knees and he got him a one hop throw to first by Roo before he came to his feet and it was in time to retire. Pasin. What a play by Bryant Roo and that retires Pascu for the first out in the inning bat. He just going to go with the single today. He has reached in nine of 11 plate appearances in this series. Slider. Here comes the payoff pitch to melendez swing and a miss strike three got him to chase the hard stuff up high and gavin Williams has his third strikeout two down in the inning. And here comes the young who homered his first time up swing and a miss strike three. The slider gets him the young down on strike side retired. We head to the bottom of the fourth so a walk and a hit both coming with two outs and Cleveland trying to rally here down 2 to 0 for the Royals in the fourth inning lane Thomas will be the batter line drive base hit through the middle lane. Thomas going to bring home David Fry and the Guardians get on the board with a two out RB. I single three straight reaching with two outs here in the fourth inning. You don't see many balls going up there for base hits, but they were playing him straight up and he gets one up the middle and he's excited about it. Why not Is about to make his 44th pitch tonight and Naylor lines it softly to Passino and the side is retired but Cleveland breaks through. They score a run. We head to the fifth. Gavin Williams goes back to work 2 to 1. Kansas City leads it. Adam Frazier leading off for the Royals here in the fifth swing and a Miss Frazier goes chasing three straight strikeouts for the big rig five on the night. First walk allowed by gavin Williams. It comes with one down as kyle Isbell, the number nine hitter will step in. He's running kind of a delayed steal for Garcia and the throw is dropped by. Roo Garcia went in awkwardly into second base. He's slow to get up and even Roo was bending over to check on him. He says he's all right, Michael garcia stays put at second, second walk in the inning allowed by gavin Williams and that does bring Bobby Witt Junior to the plate two young and neither one of them willing to back down here to third Ramirez has it. He'll go a long way side retired gavin Williams escapes the jam he created with a couple of walks. Great job by the big rig. They just pulled the char on the field here in Cleveland. It's the bottom of the fifth inning Royals by a run. Neither manager was happy. I mean, matt was out of the dugout and Stephen Vogt was out even fast when he saw the ground crew unfurled the tarp. You know, the general idea as you wait until it starts raining. They are anticipating, I don't know, heavy storm. So it is just turned 1020 eastern time Royals take the field and mcarthur will be facing the 91 and two hitters and the pitch, the bat, how can we be getting ready to restart? Pitch? Fell asleep during the two hour break, 123 inning for James mcarthur right out of the rain. That didn't take very much time at all. Royals went down 123 in the top of the sixth inning here in the bottom of the sixth, James mcarthur on to pitch a second inning. It is Ramirez to lead off the t with one swing lined and caught by garcia on a backhand. Couple of steps in a dive. He's good at any position. You put him out there six up, six down, four strikeouts among the six outs, two impressive innings for mcarthur starting an inning for him right there with a walk and a hit batter. You got two on and nobody out runners go and there's a line drive to right field comes around third. He'll score Frazier into third. He it's a soft single to right to bring in a run and the Royals add to their lead. It's 3 to 1 and still nobody out in the inning runners at the corners for his belt and the pitch inside off the glove of Naylor to the back stop in. The score is Frazier and all of this after a walk and hit batter to start the inning, they both score 4 to 1. Kansas City finally gets the first out. So that will bring up Massey grounded, fair up the right field line and it's a three run seventh inning. He'll take the lousy single with a stake attached to it. A run. Avila comes on to face Bobby with Junior, where did that get him right by his shoulder? And he came up and hit him in the face actually the top of his right hand. He is the franchise it shaken. He says I'm in that glove and the Royals have a comfortable lead. They love to add on in the later innings and turn this leadoff double into a run. They were not able to do that in the eighth inning and freddie Fermin is going to pinch hit for Masseyen strokes. It Jimenez down in the right field, a base hit there's a knock with a runner in scoring position. Freddie Fermin comes through with a pinch hit RB I single and the Royals lead 6 to 1 in the top of the ninth, four perfect innings from the bullpen. Since the rain delay, the boys are one inning away from a first place tie. Baba drilled high in the air straight away. Center Isbel sprints back leads. He makes the catch and tumbles to the warning track. What a play from Kyle Isbell. He is all the worldly in center first pitched to David Fry popped up right side and the ball game is over. The Guardians have now lost seven of nine this year to Kansas City all three in this series with the finale still to come tomorrow. And for the first time since April the 13th, the Royals are in first place in the American League Central.