Guardians bring 1-0 series lead over Royals into game 2

Updated Sep. 26, 2026 4:01 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Cleveland Guardians (84-76, first in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (68-92, fifth in the AL Central)

Kansas City, Missouri; Saturday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Guardians: Tanner Bibee (6-15, 4.35 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 142 strikeouts); Royals: Michael Wacha (9-9, 3.33 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 154 strikeouts)

LINE: Guardians -132, Royals +108; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Guardians lead 1-0 in a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals.

Kansas City has a 68-92 record overall and a 40-39 record at home. Royals hitters have a collective .401 slugging percentage to rank sixth in the AL.

Cleveland has an 84-76 record overall and a 43-36 record in road games. The Guardians are 28-9 in games when they hit two or more home runs.

Saturday's game is the 12th time these teams meet this season. The Guardians have a 6-5 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jac Caglianone has a .286 batting average to lead the Royals, and has 29 doubles, two triples and 23 home runs. Carter Jensen is 12 for 38 with three home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games.

Steven Kwan has 21 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 31 RBIs while hitting .279 for the Guardians. Angel Martinez is 15 for 38 with six doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 2-8, .263 batting average, 6.99 ERA, outscored by 21 runs

Guardians: 8-2, .246 batting average, 3.44 ERA, outscored opponents by 13 runs

INJURIES: Royals: Beck Way: 15-Day IL (back), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow), Connor Seabold: 60-Day IL (lat), Carlos Estevez: 60-Day IL (foot), Stephen Kolek: 60-Day IL (flexor), Nick Mears: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Luinder Avila: 60-Day IL (forearm), Cole Ragans: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jonathan India: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Guardians: Rhys Hoskins: 10-Day IL (back), Colin Holderman: 15-Day IL (wrist)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.