Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Indians Pick & Prediction APRIL 12th 2025

Preview and Prediction

From the beginning, the Cleveland Guardians have dominated the Kansas City Royals.

In search of their fifth consecutive victory and aiming to maintain their perfect record at home, the Guardians will strive to continue their success against the Royals on Saturday night in 2025.

Cleveland began the season by winning two out of three games in Kansas City, then secured a 7-0 victory in the series opener on Friday. Gabriel Arias smashed a three-run homer as part of his three hits for the Guardians, who have outscored the Royals 23-10 this season.

Arias has improved his stats against Kansas City this season to 6-for-12 with two home runs and five RBIs. In his other eight games, he only managed to hit 4-for-27 (.148) with no extra-base hits and no RBIs.

"It's crucial, especially against division rivals," Arias stated in an interview with Guardians.TV about the games against the Royals. "... It's important for us to go out there and compete."

Cleveland has only allowed three runs during their four-game winning streak at home. The Guardians have scored 13 runs in their last two victories.

However, Cleveland hopes to have a more productive offense against the Royals' scheduled starter on Saturday, Michael Lorenzen (1-1, 3.18 ERA), than they have had in the past.

Despite walking nine batters in 21 2/3 innings against Cleveland, the 33-year-old has only allowed one run and has a record of 1-1 in four career starts against the Guardians - all since the beginning of the 2022 season. Overall, he has a record of 2-2 with a 1.87 ERA in 12 career appearances against Cleveland.

After allowing four runs (three earned), five hits, and three walks in 5 1/3 innings during a 5-0 loss to Milwaukee in his first game of the 2025 season, Lorenzen was more effective in his second start against the Minnesota Twins. He once again gave up five hits, but only allowed one run and one walk over six innings in a 4-2 victory.

This performance came just one day before Lorenzen reached 10 years of service time in the major leagues.

"To still be competing at the level he is after 10 years," Royals manager Matt Quatraro said, "shows the care he takes with his body, his conditioning, and his ability to adapt as a pitcher over the years and not continue to do the same thing.

"All of these things speak volumes about the competitor he is."

Cleveland stars Carlos Santana and Jose Ramirez have each hit three home runs against Lorenzen. Guardians leadoff man Steven Kwan is 7-for-17 against the Royals this year, but only 1-for-4 with a double in his lifetime against Lorenzen.

Kansas City entered Friday's game after a successful 5-2 homestand. However, after their 7-0 loss, the Royals have only scored five runs in their last four games and have been shut out twice. On Friday, the Royals only managed five hits, all of which were singles, but Bobby Witt Jr. went 2-for-2 and walked twice.

Witt is batting .348 in his last 18 games against Cleveland, but he is only 1-for-5 in his lifetime against the scheduled Guardians starter, Luis L. Ortiz (0-2, 8.44 ERA), who came to Cleveland in an offseason trade from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In his Cleveland debut, the right-hander allowed seven runs, nine hits, and four walks in 4 2/3 innings during a 7-2 loss to San Diego. In his second start, he gave up two solo home runs and one other run without any walks in six innings during a 6-2 defeat against the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.

"I thought he made some great adjustments from the last outing," Cleveland catcher Austin Hedges said, according to MLB.com. "I think he's starting to understand who he is and what makes him good."

Ortiz's only start against the Royals was with Pittsburgh last September when he allowed seven runs (four earned) in four innings. Salvador Perez and Kyle Isbel each hit a home run off Ortiz in that game and are a combined 4-for-5 against him.

PREDICTION

Kansas City Royals

4

5

Cleveland Indians

Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Indians Recap APR 12TH 2025