KANSAS CITY -- Instead of starting strong against the team they¡¯re chasing in the division, the Royals fell flat in the first series of the season -- and Sunday¡¯s 6-2 loss to the Guardians at Kauffman Stadium ended on a worse note when leadoff hitter Jonathan India got hit in the face by a 98.9 mph cutter from Emmanuel Clase.
One pitch after being brushed back by a 97.1 mph fastball up and in, Clase¡¯s cutter hit India on the flap of his batting helmet on the left side of his face. He walked into the dugout on his own while holding his face, but was clearly angry.
India was being examined by Royals doctors immediately after the game, so little information was available from the team.
¡°It¡¯s an unfortunate ending to what I thought was a good weekend of baseball, other than losing two,¡± Vinnie Pasquantino said in a quiet clubhouse postgame.
Here are three takeaways from the opening series:
1. Getting to the top of the division won¡¯t be easy
The Royals haven¡¯t been shy about their goal this year, beyond making the postseason -- they want to win the AL Central. To do so, they¡¯re going to have to beat the reigning division champs in Cleveland.
On Friday, the Royals came back late and forced extra innings before eventually losing in the 10th. On Saturday, the Royals came back late again, but this time sealed the win. Sunday wasn¡¯t as close, but even down six runs late, the Royals finally got some offense going and scored two runs in the eighth, and brought the tying run to the plate, forcing the Guardians to turn to their best relievers again.
¡°If all the games are going to be like these two, I¡¯m going to be a lot grayer at the end of the year,¡± manager Matt Quatraro said postgame Saturday.
While the Royals went 8-5 against the Guardians in the season series last year, the difference between the two teams in 2024 was 6 1/2 games; it wasn¡¯t particularly close during the last month of the season in which the Guardians pulled away.
To beat Cleveland this year, the Royals are going to have to play at their best. They know how to come back against a good bullpen like Cleveland¡¯s -- the first two games this weekend showed that -- but they¡¯ll need to execute better in all the small areas of the game to have a chance. Sunday, in that regard, was disappointing. But it¡¯ll only be two weeks before these two teams meet again, with Cleveland hosting three against Kansas City on April 11-13.
2. Offensive questions remain
Three games is hardly enough of a sample size to truly evaluate what kind of offense the Royals have in 2025. They clearly still have the comeback gene, showing life late in games despite the two losses.
The Royals scored 10 runs in three games and had just five hits Sunday. Only two of them came against Guardians starter Tanner Bibee.
¡°We¡¯ve got to do a better job offensively, of taking advantage of situations when they come, making sure we get guys in from third base, second base,¡± Pasquantino said.
There will be a heightened focus on the lineup after the Royals couldn¡¯t land a middle-of-the-order bat like they wanted to this offseason. While it was good to see Maikel Garcia¡¯s results (4-for-10 with a homer) this weekend, Nos. 5-9 in the Royals¡¯ lineup combined for 10-for-56 with 11 strikeouts in the series. Hunter Renfroe and MJ Melendez, who each played two games this series, need to show improvement this season to extend the batting order.
Until the Royals show a consistently deep lineup, this offseason storyline will follow them into the summer.
3. Shaky starting pitching leads to pressure on the bullpen
The Royals¡¯ top of the rotation was not sharp this weekend and didn¡¯t record a quality start, which is what it was known for in 2024.
Opening Day starter Cole Ragans allowed three runs in five-plus innings, Seth Lugo allowed three runs in five innings with three walks on Saturday, and Michael Wacha rounded out the series by only making it four innings, needing 87 pitches and walking four batters -- but only allowing one run.
All three still kept the Royals in the game without their best stuff. But it led to the bullpen having to cover 14 innings over three games, and that¡¯s not a recipe for success no matter how good your bullpen looks. Homers off Sam Long and Chris Stratton in the fifth and sixth on Sunday allowed the Guardians to pull away.
¡°All the walks, falling behind guys,¡± Wacha said. ¡°¡ Pitch count got too high there, forced the bullpen to cover a lot of innings, which I¡¯m definitely not a fan of.¡±