CLEVELAND -- Scoring opportunities tend to be limited against Cole Ragans, and Guardians second baseman Daniel Schneemann took advantage of a unique one in Sunday¡¯s series finale at Progressive Field.
Schneemann hit a Little League two-run homer against Ragans in the second inning on Sunday, on an RBI double where he just kept on running. It gave Cleveland an early lead, but it was all they tallied amid a dominant performance by Ragans. The Guardians fell to the Royals, 4-2, to finish 5-1 on their first homestand of 2025.
In the loss, Schneemann¡¯s mad dash around the bases was an eventful highlight that invoked images of a youth baseball game.
¡°I made the joke that if we were on [the app] GameChanger, that would have been a home run,¡± Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.
With two outs in the second, Schneemann smashed a line drive to the left-field warning track that one-hopped the wall. Jhonkensy Noel started the play at first base and was sent home by third-base coach Rouglas Odor.
It could have been a close play at home plate, but shortstop Bobby Witt Jr.¡¯s throw to catcher Freddy Fermin was way off line and sailed to the backstop. Schneemann was already on his way to third when Witt caught the relay from left fielder MJ Melendez.
Odor appeared to point to the bag as Schneemann approached third, but he never stopped running as the ball got away. Schneemann made the trip around the bases in 15.80 seconds.
¡°I was a little surprised,¡± Schneemann said. ¡°Given the situation, it was obviously the right call, sending Noel. So once I saw that, I knew it was gonna be close. I figured they wouldn't cut that throw off. I figured I could get into third safely, and then the throw got away, so it worked out.¡±
It was only Witt¡¯s 17th career throwing error. The All-Star shortstop made just five throwing errors over 160 games in 2024, when he won the AL¡¯s Gold Glove Award at shortstop.
¡°I thought it was a good relay,¡± Royals manager Matt Quatraro said. ¡°MJ hit him. I don¡¯t know if his sights were just off a little bit. That¡¯s very rare to see Bobby make a throw like that. I¡¯m guessing it must have just slipped out of his hand a little bit.¡±
Schneemann dove into home headfirst less than a handful of seconds after Noel did so. Noel laid at the plate for a few moments, before urgently getting up to clear a lane for Schneemann.
Noel said he anticipated Schneemann being at third base.
¡°My instincts told me, ¡®Hey, get up,¡¯¡± Noel said. ¡°But I didn¡¯t know he was coming. ¡ And then after [I slid], I saw him and I was like, ¡®Oh, wow. He¡¯s quick.¡¯¡±
Beyond Noel¡¯s single and Schneemann¡¯s double in the third, the Guardians' offense had a tough afternoon against Ragans and Kansas City¡¯s bullpen. Cleveland tallied one hit the rest of the game, when Steven Kwan singled off Carlos Est¨¦vez to lead off the ninth inning.
Ragans struck out 10 and allowed four hits and just the two runs in 7 2/3 innings. Guardians starter Ben Lively allowed four runs on seven hits in six innings, including a game-tying two-run homer to Salvador Perez in the fourth.
Lively has allowed a homer in three of his four starts this season. On Opening Day, a three-run blast by Vinnie Pasquantino was all the damage he surrendered.
¡°The only thing that's frustrating is I feel so good and made a lot of good pitches, and the game leads up to three pitches,¡± Lively said. ¡°That's just how it goes. It's the game and I¡¯ve just got to build up from there.¡±
The Guardians were 3-6 entering their home opener on Tuesday following their three-city, nine-game season-opening road trip. They were the last team in the Majors to play at home, and a return to Cleveland was just what the doctor ordered.
Cleveland is now 8-7 as it hits the road once more for a six-game trip against the Orioles and Pirates.
¡°5-1 on any homestand, we¡¯ll take it,¡± Vogt said. ¡°Obviously, you want to go for the sweep, you want to win every day. But I¡¯ll sign up for 5-1 homestands any chance we can get. Really proud of the boys. They had a great series.¡±