Cleveland Guardians at Kansas City Royals: Final Score & Recap
Line Score
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| KC | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | - | 10 | 13 | 1 |
The Story
The Kansas City Royals handed the Cleveland Guardians a 10-3 defeat on June 28, 2024, at Kauffman Stadium, erasing a pre-game DiamondIQ model estimate of 45 percent home win probability and driving it to a final 100 percent in decisive fashion. Kansas City scored in five of the first five innings, building an insurmountable lead that Cleveland was never able to threaten in any meaningful way. Triston McKenzie absorbed the brunt of the early damage for Cleveland, surrendering the three most damaging offensive plays of the game before the Guardians could find an answer.
The second and third innings proved to be the contest's turning point. In the bottom of the second, Salvador Perez launched a home run off McKenzie that shifted win probability 7.7 percent toward Kansas City, immediately followed by Hunter Renfroe connecting on another home run off the same pitcher for an additional 7.4 percent swing. The Royals piled on in the bottom of the third when Vinnie Pasquantino singled to push win probability another 10.0 percent toward the home side. Cleveland's best chance to claw back dissolved in the top half of that inning when Daniel Schneemann struck out against Alec Marsh, a 5.1 percent negative swing for the Guardians, and David Fry grounded into a double play against Marsh in the fourth for an additional 6.1 percent damage.
Alec Marsh was the game's most impactful performer by win probability, finishing with a WPA of plus 14.6 percent as he neutralized Cleveland's lineup and preserved the cushion Kansas City built early. Among the Royals' hitters, Perez led with a WPA of plus 11.9 percent and an RE24 of plus 1.4, while Renfroe posted plus 11.1 percent WPA and the best RE24 among the power hitters at plus 1.6. Pasquantino rounded out the standout trio with a WPA of plus 9.0 percent and the game's highest RE24 at plus 3.0, reflecting his consistent run-environment impact throughout the evening.