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FinalFinal lineupsAL Central

Cleveland Guardians 11, Kansas City Royals 5

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

7:10 PM ET · Kauffman StadiumGame-day snapshot Sep 28, 2:00 AM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 29, 5:00 AM ET
T-Score39
Cleveland Guardians
85–77 · 1st AL Central · T-Score 39
11
11–5
FINAL · 9 innings
Kansas City Royals
69–93 · 5th AL Central · T-Score 28
5
T-Score28
FINAL · 9 innings
Pitching recap
PitcherTeamRoleIPHERBBKP
Tanner BibeeCLE
StarterWin
6.0731694
Michael WachaKC
StarterLoss
6.1621490
Scoring by inning
123456789RHE
CLECleveland Guardians04100110411141
KCKansas City Royals3000000205102
Top hitters
Patrick Bailey2-for-5 · 2 HR · 3 RBI
Brayan Rocchio3-for-4 · 2 HR · 2 RBI
Chase DeLauter1-for-4 · 1 HR · 1 RBI · 1 BB
Nathaniel Lowe1-for-3 · 4 RBI
Jac Caglianone2-for-4 · 2 RBI · 2 R

Matchup at a glance

PitcherStat calculation
CategoryComparisonWhy
Starting pitcherRoyalsThe starters are close overall, but Wacha owns the better strikeout and control profile.
Offense vs handRoyalsKansas has produced the stronger offense against right-handed pitching.
LineupRoyalsKansas's official lineup includes 6 left-handed bats against the opposing starter.
BullpenGuardiansCleveland has allowed fewer runs from the bullpen on the season ERA.
Recent formGuardiansCleveland has won 8 of its last 10 and owns the stronger recent run differential.

Pregame contextStarting pitchers

CLE
Tanner Bibee RHP
Tanner Bibee
Cleveland Guardians
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
4.35
128th
WHIP
1.22
79th
K/9
7.02
165th
BB/9
2.67
63rd
P-Score51i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.43
149th
OPS/R
–
IP
182.0
Last 5 starts
ERA
6.66
QUALITY
START %
40%
(2 of 5)
DAYS
REST
7
KC
Michael Wacha RHP
Michael Wacha
Kansas City Royals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.33
39th
WHIP
1.11
36th
K/9
7.13
166th
BB/9
2.45
47th
P-Score61i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.30
142nd
OPS/R
–
IP
194.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
2.56
QUALITY
START %
60%
(3 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
How the starters differ
·Wacha enters with a 3.33 ERA compared with Bibee's 4.35.
·The WHIP gap favors Wacha, 1.11 to 1.22.
·Wacha owns a 2.56 ERA over his last five starts, compared with 6.66 for Bibee.
·Wacha has produced a quality start in 60% of outings versus 40%.

Guardians at Royals: Cleveland Has One Game to Protect in the AL Central

Cleveland begins Saturday night in first place.

By the time it ends, that may still be true. There simply is not much room left between the Guardians and the White Sox.

Cleveland enters Kansas City at 84-76, one game ahead of Chicago in the AL Central. Both teams start at 7:10 ET, so there will be no early scoreboard result for either side to chase. The Guardians have their own work to finish after taking Friday’s opener 12-9.

Michael Wacha gives Kansas City a good chance to make the second game look very different.

Wacha has thrown 194.1 innings with a 3.33 ERA and 1.11 WHIP. Cleveland counters with Tanner Bibee, whose 4.35 ERA and 4.60 FIP have come over 182 innings. The starter comparison leans toward Kansas City almost across the board, though neither pitcher enters as a high-strikeout arm.

The larger difference appears later.

Cleveland’s bullpen carries a 3.53 ERA, sixth in MLB, and has struck out 10.3 batters per nine. Kansas City’s relief group owns a 5.05 ERA and a 1.52 WHIP, the worst relief WHIP in baseball.

Friday’s game never gave either bullpen much chance to hide. Cleveland scored 12, Kansas City nine.

The Royals have little left to play for in the standings, but they have already made this season series competitive. Cleveland leads it only 6-5.

For the Guardians, every result now comes with another score attached to it. Chicago hosts Colorado at the same time, one game back.

Cleveland has spent the last 10 games going 8-2 to build that narrow lead.

Saturday is about keeping it.

Written by PitcherStat ·

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

Bibee arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Cutter24%85.8
Four-seam23%94.0
Sinker21%93.2
Changeup15%80.9
Curveball11%78.1
Sweeper5%82.5
Wacha arsenal
PitchUsageVelo
Four-seam28%93.1
Changeup25%80.6
Cutter15%89.5
Sinker14%93.2
Curveball10%75.9
Slider9%85.0

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

Guardians vs RHP (Michael Wacha)
24th
in MLB
0.706OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000
Royals vs RHP (Tanner Bibee)
13th
in MLB
0.727OPS
.600.700.800.9001.000

Lineup strength vs today's starter

Weighted by batting-order spot. Season rates are regressed toward league average before they enter the model.

Updated Sep 26, 4:11 PM ET
CLECLE
.721
−12 ptsOPS edge
KCKC
.733

Even matchup

Full lineup comparison

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Cleveland GuardiansOfficial lineupvs RHP Michael Wacha
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Wacha (BvP)
1Steven KwanLLF51.7313.7870-for-3Very small sample
2José RamírezS3B56.68812.6250-for-2Very small sample
3Chase DeLauterLRF75.82016.8080-for-2Very small sample
4Jo AdellRRF61.69923.5931-for-5Very small sample
5Travis BazzanaL2B59.74315.8461-for-3Very small sample
6Nathaniel LoweL1B63.76117.8853-for-10Small sample
7Angel MartínezSLF57.75518.7110-for-3Very small sample
8Patrick BaileySC47.60710.7313-for-7Very small sample
9Brayan RocchioSSS52.70415.7491-for-2Very small sample
1Steven Kwan LF · L.282 / .731 · 3 HRvs hand .787 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample51H-Score2José Ramírez 3B · S.235 / .688 · 12 HRvs hand .625 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample56H-Score3Chase DeLauter RF · L.287 / .820 · 16 HRvs hand .808 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample75H-Score4Jo Adell RF · R.240 / .699 · 23 HRvs hand .593 · 1-for-5 · Very small sample61H-Score5Travis Bazzana 2B · L.245 / .743 · 15 HRvs hand .846 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample59H-Score6Nathaniel Lowe 1B · L.252 / .761 · 17 HRvs hand .885 · 3-for-10 · Small sample63H-Score7Angel Martínez LF · S.254 / .755 · 18 HRvs hand .711 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample57H-Score8Patrick Bailey C · S.206 / .607 · 10 HRvs hand .731 · 3-for-7 · Very small sample47H-Score9Brayan Rocchio SS · S.253 / .704 · 15 HRvs hand .749 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample52H-Score
Kansas City RoyalsOfficial lineupvs RHP Tanner Bibee
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Bibee (BvP)
1Carter JensenLC68.79027.8371-for-4Very small sample
2Bobby Witt Jr.RSS70.80018.7831-for-2Very small sample
3Jac CaglianoneLRF67.83423.8820-for-3Very small sample
4Salvador PerezRDH50.65721.6281-for-21Small sample
5Vinnie PasquantinoL1B62.76117.82610-for-17Small sample
6Michael MasseyL2B54.73513.7212-for-7Very small sample
7John RaveLRF51.7446.7850-for-2Very small sample
8Josh RojasL3B28.5862.5711-for-3Very small sample
9Isaac CollinsSLF46.6416.6600-for-4Very small sample
1Carter Jensen C · L.239 / .790 · 27 HRvs hand .837 · 1-for-4 · Very small sample68H-Score2Bobby Witt Jr. SS · R.281 / .800 · 18 HRvs hand .783 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample70H-Score3Jac Caglianone RF · L.289 / .834 · 23 HRvs hand .882 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample67H-Score4Salvador Perez DH · R.229 / .657 · 21 HRvs hand .628 · 1-for-21 · Small sample50H-Score5Vinnie Pasquantino 1B · L.249 / .761 · 17 HRvs hand .826 · 10-for-17 · Small sample62H-Score6Michael Massey 2B · L.274 / .735 · 13 HRvs hand .721 · 2-for-7 · Very small sample54H-Score7John Rave RF · L.232 / .744 · 6 HRvs hand .785 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample51H-Score8Josh Rojas 3B · L.226 / .586 · 2 HRvs hand .571 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample28H-Score9Isaac Collins LF · S.213 / .641 · 6 HRvs hand .660 · 0-for-4 · Very small sample46H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseCLECLE·KCKC
AVG.239 24th.248 8th
OPS.696 26th.718 17th
Home runs162 27th170 21st
Runs678 24th690 22nd
OBP.316 17th.316 18th
SLG.380 27th.402 14th
PitchingCLECLE·KCKC
1stMLB rank30th
ERA3.77vs4.77
CLEKC
WHIP1.26vs1.41
CLEKC
K/99.6vs7.4
CLEKC
HR Allowed175vs210
CLEKC
BullpenCLECLE·KCKC
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA3.56vs4.88
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.26vs1.47
no league rank
Saves46vs38
CLEKC
ResultsCLECLE·KCKC
+30524th
Run differential
+31723rd
85–77 Record69–93
8–2 Last 102–8
Last 10 games
Cleveland Guardians (8–2)
W
W
L
W
W
W
W
W
W
L
Kansas City Royals (2–8)
L
L
W
L
L
L
L
L
W
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
8—5
13 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Guardians?+
Tanner Bibee (4.35 ERA, 6–15) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Royals?+
Michael Wacha (3.33 ERA, 9–9) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
7:10 PM ET at Kauffman Stadium.
Where is the game being played?+
Kauffman Stadium, home of the Kansas City Royals.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Guardians and Royals performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Royals 5–8 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Tanner Bibee is at 51; Michael Wacha is at 61. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.