After going hitless in his first three at-bats, Bobby Witt Jr. roped a double down the left-field line with two outs in the eighth inning, spurring the Royals to a 3-1 victory over the rechristened Cleveland Guardians.
In a matchup of former Cy Young Award winners, Cleveland ace Shane Bieber and erstwhile Royals star Zach Greinke dueled to a 1-all stalemate before turning the game over to the bullpens on a cold day at Kauffman Stadium.
It remained tied until the eighth, when the Royals’ Michael Taylor worked a walk off Triston McKenzie (0-1) and then took second on Nicky Lopez‘s sacrifice bunt. McKenzie struck out Whit Merrifield before Witt, regarded by many as the No. 1 prospect in the game, doubled down the left-field line to give Kansas City its first lead.
After taking Friday off, the series resumes Saturday with Cleveland RHP Zach Plesac against Royals RHP Brad Keller at 3:10.