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FinalFinal lineupsAL Central

Kansas City Royals 3, Cleveland Guardians 0

Final Score and Game Recap

Final score, pitching lines and standings context.

7:10 PM ET · Progressive FieldGame-day snapshot Aug 28, 9:45 PM ETFinal lineups lockedCurrent 2026 season stats — updated Oct 11, 5:01 AM ET
T-Score32
Kansas City Royals
69–93 · 5th AL Central · T-Score 32
3
3–0
FINAL
Cleveland Guardians
85–77 · 1st AL Central · T-Score 56
0
T-Score56
FINAL

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.
BullpenGuardiansCleveland has allowed fewer runs from the bullpen on the season ERA.
Recent formRoyalsKansas has won 9 of its last 10 and owns the stronger recent run differential.
Team strengthGuardiansCleveland leads 56–32 in T-Score.

Starting pitchers

KC
Michael Wacha RHP
Michael Wacha
Kansas City Royals
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.49
39th
WHIP
1.13
36th
K/9
6.97
165th
BB/9
2.32
46th
P-Score61i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.22
142nd
OPS/R
–
IP
162.2
Last 5 starts
ERA
2.97
QUALITY
START %
60%
(3 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
CLE
Tanner Bibee RHP
Tanner Bibee
Cleveland Guardians
2026 season (MLB rank among qualified starters)
ERA
3.97
128th
WHIP
1.14
79th
K/9
7.08
166th
BB/9
2.53
63rd
P-Score52i
FIP
–
HR/9
1.50
149th
OPS/R
–
IP
156.1
Last 5 starts
ERA
4.31
QUALITY
START %
60%
(3 of 5)
DAYS
REST
6
How the starters differ
·Wacha allows the lower home-run rate: 1.22 vs 1.50 per nine.
·Wacha works deeper into games, 6.3 IP per start versus 5.8.
·Wacha owns a 2.97 ERA over his last five starts, compared with 4.31 for Bibee.
·Wacha enters with a 3.67 road ERA; Bibee owns a 4.46 ERA at home.
Advanced starter metricsERA−, FIP, WAR, career vs opponent
MetricWachaBibeeNote
Career vs opponent1.93 ERA, 2 GS5.19 ERA, 2 GSCareer history against this opponent.

How the lineups match the starters' pitch mix

Pitch data coverage: partial. Usage and velocity only.

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

Team OPS vs opposing starter's hand

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

Lineups

Final lineupsOrder from the stored snapshot; treat as unofficial until the card is filed.Full lineup page
Kansas City RoyalsOfficial lineupvs RHP Tanner Bibee
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Bibee (BvP)
1Carter JensenLC76.79027.8371-for-4Very small sample
2Bobby Witt Jr.RSS78.80018.7831-for-2Very small sample
3Jac CaglianoneLRF75.83423.8820-for-3Very small sample
4Salvador PerezRDH56.65721.6281-for-21Small sample
5Vinnie PasquantinoL1B69.76117.82610-for-17Small sample
6Nick LoftinR3B53.7108.6851-for-4Very small sample
7Isaac CollinsSLF51.6416.6600-for-4Very small sample
8Josh RojasL3B31.5862.5711-for-3Very small sample
9Kyle IsbelLCF36.5916.6521-for-8Very small sample
1Carter Jensen C · L.239 / .790 · 27 HRvs hand .837 · 1-for-4 · Very small sample76H-Score2Bobby Witt Jr. SS · R.281 / .800 · 18 HRvs hand .783 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample78H-Score3Jac Caglianone RF · L.289 / .834 · 23 HRvs hand .882 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample75H-Score4Salvador Perez DH · R.229 / .657 · 21 HRvs hand .628 · 1-for-21 · Small sample56H-Score5Vinnie Pasquantino 1B · L.249 / .761 · 17 HRvs hand .826 · 10-for-17 · Small sample69H-Score6Nick Loftin 3B · R.240 / .710 · 8 HRvs hand .685 · 1-for-4 · Very small sample53H-Score7Isaac Collins LF · S.213 / .641 · 6 HRvs hand .660 · 0-for-4 · Very small sample51H-Score8Josh Rojas 3B · L.226 / .586 · 2 HRvs hand .571 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample31H-Score9Kyle Isbel CF · L.224 / .591 · 6 HRvs hand .652 · 1-for-8 · Very small sample36H-Score
Cleveland GuardiansOfficial lineupvs RHP Michael Wacha
#HitterPosH-ScoreOPSHRvs RHPVs Wacha (BvP)
1Steven KwanLLF53.7313.7870-for-3Very small sample
2Chase DeLauterLRF79.82016.8080-for-2Very small sample
3José RamírezS3B60.68812.6250-for-2Very small sample
4Jo AdellRRF66.69923.5931-for-5Very small sample
5Nathaniel LoweL1B68.76117.8853-for-10Small sample
6Travis BazzanaL2B64.74315.8461-for-3Very small sample
7Patrick BaileySC51.60710.7313-for-7Very small sample
8Petey HalpinLCF32.5944.676No MLB historyNo history
9Brayan RocchioSSS54.70415.7491-for-2Very small sample
1Steven Kwan LF · L.282 / .731 · 3 HRvs hand .787 · 0-for-3 · Very small sample53H-Score2Chase DeLauter RF · L.287 / .820 · 16 HRvs hand .808 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample79H-Score3José Ramírez 3B · S.235 / .688 · 12 HRvs hand .625 · 0-for-2 · Very small sample60H-Score4Jo Adell RF · R.240 / .699 · 23 HRvs hand .593 · 1-for-5 · Very small sample66H-Score5Nathaniel Lowe 1B · L.252 / .761 · 17 HRvs hand .885 · 3-for-10 · Small sample68H-Score6Travis Bazzana 2B · L.245 / .743 · 15 HRvs hand .846 · 1-for-3 · Very small sample64H-Score7Patrick Bailey C · S.206 / .607 · 10 HRvs hand .731 · 3-for-7 · Very small sample51H-Score8Petey Halpin CF · L.225 / .594 · 4 HRvs hand .676 · No MLB history · No history32H-Score9Brayan Rocchio SS · S.253 / .704 · 15 HRvs hand .749 · 1-for-2 · Very small sample54H-Score

Team comparison

OffenseKCKC·CLECLE
AVG.248 8th.239 23rd
OPS.718 16th.696 26th
Home runs170 21st162 27th
Runs690 22nd678 24th
OBP.316 17th.316 18th
SLG.402 13th.380 27th
PitchingKCKC·CLECLE
1stMLB rank30th
ERA4.77vs3.77
KCCLE
WHIP1.41vs1.26
KCCLE
K/97.4vs9.6
KCCLE
HR Allowed210vs175
KCCLE
BullpenKCKC·CLECLE
1stMLB rank30th
Bullpen ERA4.78vs3.49
no league rank
Bullpen WHIP1.43vs1.23
no league rank
Saves38vs46
KCCLE
ResultsKCKC·CLECLE
+20928th
Run differential
+28719th
69–93 Record85–77
9–1 Last 108–2
Last 10 games
Kansas City Royals (9–1)
W
L
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
Cleveland Guardians (8–2)
W
W
W
W
W
W
W
L
W
L
2026 head-to-head
Season Series
5—8
13 Games Played

Frequently asked

Who is starting for the Royals?+
Michael Wacha (3.49 ERA, 7–8) is listed as the starter.
Who is starting for the Guardians?+
Tanner Bibee (3.97 ERA, 5–13) is listed as the starter.
What time does the game start?+
7:10 PM ET at Progressive Field.
Where is the game being played?+
Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Guardians.
Are the lineups confirmed?+
Not as official league cards. The orders shown are the current projected or last-posted lineups.
How have the Royals and Guardians performed head-to-head?+
Season series: Guardians 8–5 this season.
How do the starters compare on P-Score?+
Michael Wacha is at 61; Tanner Bibee is at 52. P-Score is PitcherStat's 0–100 season index for qualified starters.