When the Cleveland Guardians take the field in Kansas City for a split doubleheader with the Royals on Saturday, they will do so with a familiar face back with the team.
So will the Royals.
Before inclement weather postponed the scheduled series opener on Friday, Cleveland announced that Gabriel Arias, out since June 30 with an ankle sprain, was activated from the injured list. He was slated to start at shortstop with Brayan Rocchio shuffled to second base before Mother Nature intervened.
The Royals reinstated right-hander Hunter Harvey from the 60-day IL on Friday. The reliever has been sidelined since April 8 due to a shoulder strain.
In the Saturday doubleheader, Cleveland will send right-handers Gavin Williams (6-4, 3.54 ERA) and Tanner Bibee (6-9, 4.27) to the mound for Games 1 and 2, respectively.
Kansas City, in turn, will feature righty Michael Wacha (4-9, 3.62) in the first game and left-hander Kris Bubic (8-6, 2.38) in the nationally televised nightcap.
The Guardians had won four in a row and 11 of 13 games overall before seeing their bid for a four-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles fail with a 4-3 loss on Thursday afternoon.
Despite the setback, Cleveland manager Steven Vogt praised his charges as they head into their first series against Kansas City since the Guardians took four of six against the Royals across two series in the season’s early weeks.
“We love the way we’re playing right now,” Vogt said. “This was a great homestand. I couldn’t be more proud of our guys coming out of the break, to play the way they did this week and we know that it’s not going to be an easy weekend. We’ve got to come in and play really good baseball and take care of our stuff.”
Williams, 25, allowed two runs on four hits in five-plus innings in a no-decision against Kansas City on March 29. He is 2-1 with a 2.14 ERA in six career starts vs. the Royals.
Wacha, 34, saw his winless stretch extend to five outings despite yielding one run in each of his past two trips to the mound.
He also permitted one run in his latest meeting with Cleveland, although four walks elevated his pitch count and led to his exit after four innings on March 30. He took the loss in that contest to fall to 2-2 with a 2.61 ERA in seven career appearances (all starts) against the Guardians.
Bibee, 26, has won two starts in a row following a 0-5 stretch over his previous eight outings.
He improved to 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA in seven career starts against Kansas City after going 1-0 in two starts this season. He scattered a total of five hits over 10 1/3 scoreless innings this year against the Royals.
Bubic, 27, permitted three runs (two earned) on six hits in six innings in a 7-0 setback to Cleveland on April 11. He is 1-3 with a 5.18 ERA in nine career appearances (four starts) vs. the Guardians.
The Royals are returning home after winning three of the final four contests to conclude a six-game road trip following the All-Star break.
Vinnie Pasquantino belted a pair of two-run homers in Kansas City’s 8-4 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday. He went 7-for-19 (.368) with two homers and four RBIs in the previous two series vs. Cleveland.
“We believe in this group of guys,” Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. “We’ve had injuries just like everybody else, but at the same time, we believe we can play good baseball and win a lot of games.”
–Field Level Media
