This story was originally published by Dead Spin
The Kansas City Royals have won three straight at Cleveland to join the Guardians atop the AL Central standings.
With Michael Wacha looking to continue his run of mound success, the surging Royals aim to sweep this four-game set with a fifth consecutive win over the struggling Guardians on Wednesday.
Kansas City entered this series three games behind the Guardians, then swept a doubleheader Monday before winning 6-1 on Tuesday to sit tied for the division lead. Winners in 10 of 13, the Royals own the tiebreaker with their 7-2 mark vs. Cleveland.
“This means a lot for our group, to let us know what we have in front of us,” Kansas City’s Paul DeJong, who clubbed a two-run, second-inning homer Tuesday, told Bally Sports Kansas City. “Just rally around each other and try to win a game every day. We’re not done yet.”
DeJong is batting .304 with five homers and 12 RBIs in 19 games since being acquired from the Chicago White Sox. Two of those home runs came this week against the Guardians, who have lost nine of 12 and are 24-32 since leading the Central by nine games on June 25.
“A couple of weeks’ stretch doesn’t define who we are,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “We’ve got to relax and go be ourselves. … We’ve got an opportunity (Wednesday) to get a win.”
Things likely won’t get easier for the Guardians, who have totaled eight runs and 17 hits in this series, vs. Wacha (11-6, 3.32 ERA). The right-hander is 7-0 with a 2.40 ERA in his last 10 starts. Kansas City is 9-1 in those games and has won five straight started by Wacha.
On Friday, he yielded six hits against Philadelphia, but no walks and just two runs during the 7-4 home victory.
“Just keep trending in that right direction,” the 32-year-old Wacha said. “The main thing is keep building, never being satisfied with where you’re at and always getting better.”
Wacha’s current 10-game run of success began with a 2-1 home victory against Cleveland on June 27. He allowed seven hits and two walks, but only that run, while striking out six in 5 1/3 innings. He’s 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA in four career starts against the Guardians, and each coming for a different team.
Cleveland counters with Tanner Bibee (10-6, 3.46), who endured one bad inning Friday during a 5-3 loss to Texas. The right-hander allowed all four of his runs in the second of the 5 2/3 innings he lasted. Bibee also yielded eight hits and a walk to come back down to Earth after going 3-1 with a 1.65 ERA in his previous five starts.
“Back is against the wall. At that point, it’s just trying to figure out how many (innings) I can get through,” Bibee said. “It’s just riding the highs and lows.”
He has been solid against the Royals, going 1-0 with a 2.81 ERA in three career starts. In two starts vs. Kansas City this season, Bibee has allowed four earned runs and struck out 10 without a walk in 11 innings.
The Royals’ MJ Melendez is 0-for-7 vs. Bibee, but 7-for-16 in the last four games.
Despite the Guardians’ recent offensive woes, rookie Daniel Schneeman is 9-for-20 in his last six games.
–Field Level Media
