{"id":671438,"date":"2026-04-09T05:54:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T05:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/671438\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T05:54:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T05:54:26","slug":"guardians-crush-royals-in-rubber-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/671438\/","title":{"rendered":"Guardians Crush Royals in Rubber Match"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AThe Guardians’ bats came alive late, with a grand slam highlighting their decisive victory over the Royals.Kansas City Today<\/p>\n

The Cleveland Guardians defeated the Kansas City Royals 10-2 in the rubber match of their three-game series on Wednesday. Angel Martinez led the way for the Guardians with a grand slam in the 8th inning, while Rhys Hoskins, Jose Ramirez, and Juan Brito also drove in runs. Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo pitched 5.2 solid innings, allowing just one earned run.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

The win keeps the Guardians in the hunt in the AL Central, as they look to build on their recent success. For the struggling Royals, the loss continues their disappointing start to the season and raises further questions about their ability to compete in the division.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

The Guardians jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, with Hoskins, Ramirez, and Brito all driving in runs. The Royals got on the board with an RBI double from Bobby Witt Jr. and an unearned run in the 5th, but Cleveland pulled away late with Martinez’s grand slam and some insurance runs.<\/p>\n

The game was played on Wednesday, April 9, 2026.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Angel Martinez<\/p>\n

A Guardians outfielder who hit a grand slam in the 8th inning to break the game open.<\/p>\n

Joey Cantillo<\/p>\n

The Guardians starting pitcher who went 5.2 innings, allowing 1 earned run.<\/p>\n

Bobby Witt Jr.<\/p>\n

The Royals’ young star who had 2 hits and an RBI in the loss.<\/p>\n

Cole Ragans<\/p>\n

The Royals starting pitcher who left the game early after being hit by a comebacker.<\/p>\n

Rhys Hoskins<\/p>\n

The Guardians hitter who drove in a run with a double.<\/p>\n

Got photos? Submit your photos here. \u203a<\/a>
\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really came together as a team today and put together a complete game. Angel’s grand slam was the big blow, but it was great to see contributions up and down the lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Terry Francona, Guardians Manager<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The Guardians will look to build on this win as they continue their homestand, while the Royals will try to regroup before their next series.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

This victory showcases the Guardians’ offensive firepower and resilience, as they were able to pull away late against their division rivals. For the Royals, the loss is another setback in what has been a challenging start to the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Guardians’ bats came alive late, with a grand slam…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":671439,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2387],"tags":[5,936,2123,55,2596,2595,4,252],"class_list":{"0":"post-671438","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kansas-city-royals","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-kansas","10":"tag-kansas-city","11":"tag-kansas-city-royals","12":"tag-kansascity","13":"tag-kansascityroyals","14":"tag-mlb","15":"tag-royals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116373204364725928","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}