Jose Ramirez homered and drove in four runs and Nathaniel Lowe hit a homer and drove in three to lead the host Cleveland Guardians to an 11-1 drubbing of the Kansas City Royals on Sunday.
Jo Adell was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and a run, Chase DeLauter was 4-for-4 with three runs and an RBI and Steven Kwan went 2-for-3 with three runs for the Guardians, who salvaged the finale of the three-game series. The first pitch was delayed 30 minutes by rain.
The Royals lost for only the second time in 14 games.
Starter Parker Messick (11-8) limited Kansas City to one run and five hits in six innings with two walks and five strikeouts.
Royals starter Seth Lugo (6-8) was hammered for nine runs and nine hits in 3 2/3 innings with two walks and two strikeouts.
The Guardians scored three in the bottom of the first for a 3-1 advantage. Ramirez’s sacrifice fly brought in the first run, and Lowe’s two-out, two-run homer gave Cleveland a two-run lead. The opposite-field drive just cleared the left field wall for his 15th home run.
The Guardians added three runs in the third to make it 6-1. Adell ripped a bases-loaded, two-run double and Lowe produced a sacrifice fly.
Cleveland put up another three-spot in the fourth on DeLauter’s run-scoring double and Ramirez’s two-run homer to right for a 9-1 lead. It was Ramirez’s 11th home run and first since June 6.
The Guardians tacked on two runs in the sixth to make it 11-1 on RBI singles by Ramirez and Adell. Ramirez’s single was the 1,000th of his career.
Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the first on Salvador Perez’s two-out RBI single. Messick avoided more damage by striking out Nick Loftin with runners on first and third.
–Field Level Media
