Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Indians Pick & Prediction APRIL 13th 2025
Preview and Prediction
After a less-than-stellar performance against Cleveland in the season opener, Cole Ragans of the Kansas City Royals has bounced back and pitched well in his recent outings.
As he prepares to take the mound against the Guardians on Sunday, the Royals' highly-touted left-hander will look to continue his recent success and avoid being swept in this three-game home series by Cleveland, who is riding a five-game winning streak.
Ragans, who was an All-Star and received Cy Young votes in 2024, allowed three runs, five hits, and two walks in five innings during the Royals' 7-4 loss to the Guardians on March 27. In his career, Ragans has struggled against Cleveland, with a 0-2 record and 5.79 ERA in four starts against them.
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However, since his rough season opener, Ragans has only allowed two runs, nine hits, and has struck out 21 batters with just two walks in 11 innings against Milwaukee and Minnesota. Unfortunately, the Royals' offense has only provided him with one run in each of those games, resulting in a split for the team.
Teammate Bobby Witt Jr. praised Ragans, saying, "It's unbelievable and it's Cy Young stuff. Any time he goes on the mound, you know we've just got to get some runs on the board for him and he is going to do the rest."
Overall, the Royals' starting rotation has been solid with a 2.92 ERA through the first 15 games of the season. However, the team's offense has struggled, batting just .216 and scoring only eight runs in their last five games, including 10 strikeouts against Cleveland's starting pitcher Luis Ortiz in Saturday's 6-3 loss.
Vinnie Pasquantino provided some offense for the Royals on Saturday with a three-run homer, but the team will need more production from their bats to overcome Cleveland's Ben Lively (0-1, 4.40) in the series finale. Lively only allowed one home run and three hits in five innings during the season opener against the Royals.
After a rough outing against San Diego, Lively bounced back with a solid performance against the Chicago White Sox, giving up just two hits and three walks in five innings. His manager, Stephen Vogt, praised him, saying, "He did his job. Just excellent, excellent. We love Ben. We love what he means to us."
Cleveland has dominated the Royals this season, winning four out of five games and outscoring them 29-13. Gabriel Arias has been a key contributor for the Guardians, hitting two home runs in the first two games of this series and driving in seven runs in total. Teammate Angel Martinez has also made an impact, going 5-for-7 with three RBIs since making his season debut on Friday.
The Guardians' star Steven Kwan has also had success against Ragans, going 4-for-10 in his career. Cleveland's current five-game winning streak has all come at home, where they are 5-0 to start the season for the first time since 2002.
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There is some uncertainty for the Royals as Jonathan India may not be available for the series finale after exiting Saturday's game with right quad tightness.
Kansas City Royals vs. Cleveland Indians Recap APR 13TH 2025
Cole Ragans struck out 10 batters over a career-best 7 2/3 innings and Salvador Perez hit a two-run homer as the visiting Kansas City Royals salvaged the finale of their three-game series against the Cleveland Guardians with a 4-2 victory on Sunday afternoon.
It was the third straight game that Ragans struck out 10 or more batters, joining Kevin Appier (1996) as the only pitchers in Royals history to accomplish that feat. Ragans (1-0), who struck out five in a row over the fourth and fifth innings, retired 18 of the last 19 batters he faced and didn't issue a walk.
Carlos Estevez struck out three after yielding a leadoff single to Steven Kwan in the bottom of the ninth to pick up his fifth save.
Maikel Garcia went 3-for-4 with a two-RBI double and Kyle Isbel also had three hits and scored a run for Kansas City, which snapped a two-game losing streak.
Daniel Schneemann doubled and drove in a run for Cleveland, which had a five-game win streak snapped. Ben Lively (0-2) suffered the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out five.
Cleveland took a 2-0 lead in the second inning when Schneemann lined a two-out double to the wall in left-center, driving in Jhonkensy Noel, who had singled. Schneemann also came around to score on the play when Bobby Witt Jr.'s wild relay throw to the plate went to the backstop.
Kansas City tied it 2-2 in the fourth on Perez's second home run of the season, a 394-foot drive to left that scored Vinnie Pasquantino, who had singled.
The Royals took a 4-2 lead in the fifth on a two-run double to the gap in right-center, driving in Freddy Fermin, who had walked, and Isbel, who had doubled.
It was the first loss in six home games for Cleveland.