Guardians series preview: This is a huge week

The biggest week for the Royals since 2015?

This is arguably the most important week in Royals history since 2015. The Royals are tied with the Twins for second place, with both teams trailing the Guardians by 3.5 games. The Royals will host the first place Guardians to begin the week, and end it by hosting the Twins (with the Chiefs home opener squeezed in there as well to make for an exciting week at Truman Sports Complex).

Cleveland Guardians (78-59) vs. Kansas City Royals (75-63) at Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City, MO

Guardians: 4.55 runs scored/game (14th in MLB), 4.03 runs allowed/game (6th)

Royals: 4.80 runs scored/game (8th), 4.13 runs allowed/game (8th)

The Royals took three of four from the Guardians in Cleveland last week, but the Guardians bounced back to take two of three from the Pirates over the weekend. The Royals have won the overall season series, taking 7 of 10 so far. The Guardians are 20-22 since the All-Star break and are a 35-34 team on the road.

The Guardians have scored just 39 runs in ten games against the Royals. On the road, they are hitting just .231/.301/.376 as a team.

José Ramírez is hitting .351/.380/.701 against lefties this year. Lane Thomas is hitting .176/.260/.224 in 29 games since being acquired from Washington. All-Star Steven Kwan is hitting just .204/.291/.302 since the All-Star break. Top prospect Kyle Manzardo was called up after hitting .267/.398/.548 with 20 home runs in 83 games in Triple-A. Since his call up on June 26, Jhonkensy Noel is tied for 12th in the American League with 13 home runs.

The Guardians are tied with the sixth-most stolen bases (126) at a success rate of 78 percent. They have the second-most Defensive Runs Saved in baseball with terrific numbers from Andrés Giménez and Brayan Rocchio up the middle.

Gavin Williams gave up two runs on three hits in five innings in a loss to the Royals his last time out. He has pitched as many as six innings in just two of his eleven starts this year. He throws a 96.8 mph fastball, but opponents are hitting .288 off it, while hitting just .136 against his cutter. Williams has a 2.76 ERA in his career on the road, compared to 4.88 at home.

Tanner Bibee gave up five runs in five innings last time against the Royals in a no-decision the Guardians eventually won. Lefties are hitting .273/.323/.468 against him, compared to .185/.234/.339 from righties. Opponents are hitting just .162 against his slider with a 36.5 percent whiff rate.

Ben Lively gave up six runs in less than five innings in his last start against the Pirates and has a 4.90 ERA over his last 14 starts. Lively is a journeyman who pitched for the Royals briefly in 2018-19 and has not thrown this many innings in a season since 2017. He has allowed the eighth-most home runs in the American League. He has a deep arsenal with a four-seamer, sinker, sweeper, changeup, curve, and slider.

The Cleveland bullpen has been tops in baseball all year with a 2.80 ERA. On Friday, Emmanuel Clase gave up a home run, his first earned run allowed since July 7. He leads the American League with 40 saves in 43 opportunities. Hunter Gaddis has the fifth-lowest ERA among qualified relievers. Clase, Gaddis, Cade Smith, and Tim Herrin are all in the top ten in baseball in most relief appearances. Scott Barlow has allowed 11 runs (10 earned) in nine innings this month.

The Royals currently have their worst losing streak of the year and just lost their starting first baseman. But they can right their ship with a successful week. The Guardians have not been the same team in the second half as they were to start the year, and the Royals have a chance to make this a divisional race.