Kris Bubic back on track as Royals beat winless Brewers
Bubic (1-0) struck out eight and walked two in a 95-pitch outing. It was his first start since April 15, 2023, when an injury required Tommy John surgery and limited him to a relief role in all 27 of his appearances last season.
With Milwaukee's rotation thinned by injuries, Elvin Rodriguez made his Brewers debut with a spot start on his 27th birthday. Rodriguez (0-1), who pitched most of the previous two seasons in Japan as a reliever, allowed four runs on six hits in four innings.
Kansas City added six runs in the seventh to extend the lead to 10-0 before the Brewers got one back in the bottom half off Angel Zerpa on doubles by Isaac Collins and Jackson Chourio. Cavan Biggio had a pinch-hit RBI single for the Royals in the ninth.
The Royals jumped on Rodriguez for three runs in the first. Jonathan India and Bobby Witt Jr. opened with consecutive singles. Michael Massey's two-out ground-rule double scored one, and Hunter Renfroe followed with a two-run single to left.
Maikel Garcia made it 4-0 in the second with his second homer, a 428-foot solo shot to center.
Salvador Perez opened the seventh against Elvis Peguero with his first home run to push the lead to 5-0. The Royals then loaded the bases on two singles and a walk. Grant Anderson, called up from Triple-A Nashville earlier Monday, relieved and walked in a run, then allowed a pair of run-scoring singles and an RBI ground out to make it 10-0.
The Brewers loaded the bases in the second on a walk and consecutive two-out infield singles, but Bubic got Brice Turang on a grounder to first.
Bubic was 3-13 with a 5.58 ERA in 28 appearances, including 27 starts, in 2022, then made just three starts in 2023. After being activated midway through last season, he compiled a 2.67 ERA through 27 relief appearances for the Royals.
The Brewers were swept by the Yankees in their opening three-game road series, being outscored 36-14 and allowing 15 homers.
Royals OF Dairon Blanco (Achilles) lands on 10-day IL
Blanco, 31, stole two bases and scored two runs in the season-opening series against the Cleveland Guardians.
He is a career .258 hitter with seven homers, 33 RBIs and 58 steals in 165 games since making his debut with the Royals in 2022.
The Royals called up infielder/outfielder Tyler Tolbert, 27, from Triple-A Omaha in a corresponding move. Drafted by Kansas City in the 13th round in 2019, Tolbert has yet to make his major league debut.
Tanner Bibee feeling well, pitching well as Guardians beat Royals
Manzardo and Arias both finished with two hits, two RBIs and a run scored while Kwan went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored. Schneemann reached base four times with three walks and a homer for the Guardians, who won their second straight game.
Witt had an RBI single, Vinnie Pasquantino tripled and Maikel Garcia and Renfroe each doubled for Kansas City. Michael Wacha (0-1) took the loss, allowing one run on four hits over four innings. He walked four and struck out two.
The Guardians extended the lead to 3-0 in the fifth off reliever Sam Long. Kwan led off with a single and scored one out later on Manzardo's second home run of the season, a 417-foot drive to right.
Schneemann made it 6-0 when he led off the eighth inning with a home run to right.
Kansas City cut it to 6-2 in the eighth on an RBI single by Witt and a two-out bases-loaded walk to Renfroe. Reliever Hunter Gaddis then got out of the jam by getting Garcia to ground out.
Bobby Witt Jr. RBI double gives Royals win over Guardians
Maikel Garcia hit a tying homer off Paul Sewald (0-1) to start the seventh as the Royals evened the series at one game apiece. Salvador Perez drove in two runs for Kansas City.
Steven Kwan homered and scored twice for Cleveland.
Guardians star Jose Ramirez left after 5 1/2 innings due to a sprained right wrist after sliding into second on a steal attempt. Ramirez initially stayed in the game before exiting.
Daniel Lynch IV (1-0) pitched two perfect innings of relief for the Royals.
Kansas City trailed 3-1 entering the bottom of the sixth before Kyle Isbel singled and Jonathan India walked to finish the outing of Cleveland's Gavin Williams.
Cade Smith entered and retired the next two batters before Perez singled to left to bring Kansas City within one.
After Garcia homered off the left-field foul pole to tie it in the seventh, Cavin Biggio singled and Dairon Blanco came in as a pinch-runner and stole second. Sewald retired the next two hitters before Hunter Gaddis came on and allowed Witt's go-ahead double.
In the ninth, Kyle Manzardo walked for the Guardians before Carlos Estevez retired the next three hitters. Estevez struck out Lane Thomas looking to end it and record his first save.
Kansas City's Seth Lugo allowed three runs and four hits over five innings. He struck out four and walked three.
Williams gave up two runs and four hits in five-plus innings for the Guardians. He struck out two and walked one.
Cleveland took a 1-0 lead in the second when Nolan Jones led off with a double, moved to third on Thomas' single and scored on Bo Naylor's single to center.
The Guardians pushed across another run in the third without the benefit of a hit. Lugo walked both Kwan and Ramirez to start the inning and Manzardo's fly to right moved Kwan to third before Carlos Santana's fly-out to center scored Kwan.
The Royals got one run back in the bottom of the fourth. India singled and moved to second on a wild pitch by Williams. Two outs later, India was on third when Perez hit a bloop single to center to put Kansas City on the board.
Kwan homered with two outs in the fifth to give Cleveland a 3-1 lead, smacking a 2-0 cutter from Lugo 406 feet over the fence in right-center.
Kyle Manzardo stars as Guardians top Royals in 10 innings
Steven Kwan led off the 10th inning with the tie-breaking RBI double for the defending American League Central champion Guardians, who have won both their season openers under second-year manager Stephen Vogt.
Manzardo began the Guardians' comeback from a 3-0 deficit in the fourth, when he tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jhonkensy Noel. Jose Ramirez lofted another sacrifice fly in the fifth before Manzardo greeted Angel Zerpa by hitting a two-run homer on the first pitch he saw in the sixth.
The 24-year-old, who made his first Opening Day roster this season, added insurance with a two-out, two-run double off Sam Long (0-1) in the 10th.
Paul Sewald earned the save with a perfect 10th.
Kwan had two hits.
Vinnie Pasquantino, who was questionable entering the game due to a right hamstring injury he suffered last Saturday, hit a three-run homer in the third before he began the Royals' comeback by lacing a leadoff double against Clase (1-0) in the ninth.
Salvador Perez followed with a single to send pinch-runner Freddy Fermin to third before Fermin trotted home on Michael Massey's sacrifice fly to the track in right.
Clase was 47-of-49 in regular season save opportunities last season, when he posted an 0.61 ERA and finished third in the American League Cy Young Award balloting, before he went 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA and two saves in three chances over seven playoff appearances.
Pasquantino was the only player with multiple hits for the Royals, who fell to 0-3 on Opening Day under manager Matt Quatraro.
Neither starter factored into the decision after five-inning outings.
The Guardians' Ben Lively, who was pressed into duty when Tanner Bibee was scratched due to food poisoning, gave up three runs on four hits and no walks while striking out three. The Royals' Cole Ragans allowed three runs on five hits and two walks while whiffing three.
Report: Royals acquire OF/1B Mark Canha from Brewers
Canha, 36, signed a minor league deal with the Brewers. He is just 2-for-23 with one homer, four strikeouts and four walks in Cactus League action.
Canha reportedly let the Brewers know he planned to exercise a clause in his contract that required the team to put him on the 40-man roster or allow him to become a free agent. As a result, the Brewers traded him to the Royals.
Per MLB.com, Canha could earn $1.4 million with performance bonuses in 2025 once he is elevated to the majors.
Canha batted .242 with seven homers and 42 RBIs in 125 games split between the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants last season.
He is a .249 hitter with 120 homers, 459 RBIs and 514 runs in 1,049 career games for the Oakland A's (2015-21), New York Mets (2022-23), Brewers (2023), Tigers (2024) and Giants (2024).
Royals preseason capsule: Bobby Witt Jr. again the key to playoff run
2024 record: 86-76 (2nd place, AL Central)
He gone: RHP Brady Singer.
New faces: RHP Carlos Estevez, INF Jonathan India, OF Joey Wiemer.
Biggest question entering Opening Day: Bobby Witt Jr. is going to be OK, right? X-rays came back negative after the Royals' shortstop was hit in the left forearm by a fastball during a March 12 spring training game. He suffered a contusion and will continue to be evaluated. Witt told reporters, "If it was October or April or March 27, I'd be good." Royals fans and brass hope his body was listening.
Top prospect: Kansas City chose 1B Jac Caglianone sixth overall in last season's draft after his solid college career at Florida. The slugger flexed his power during the spring but must increase his contact and limit his strikeouts -- note the lack of a "k" in his first name -- to keep developing.
Breakout player: OF Hunter Renfroe's first season in Kansas City wasn't what the club hoped for, as his power and overall production (15 HRs, 52 RBIs, .229 BA) last year dipped among injuries to his back, left toe and right hamstring. He came to spring training leaner and healthier and is determined to show he still wields a reliable and potent bat.
2025 outlook: The Royals transformed from a 106-loss squad in 2023 to an ALDS team one season later behind a solid pitching staff that compiled the No. 8 team ERA (3.76) in baseball. RHPs Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha and LHP Cole Ragans anchor a rotation built to get the ball to a bullpen that now flaunts Estevez, owner of 57 saves over the past two seasons. If new leadoff man India can help ignite an offense led by all-everything SS Witt Jr., runner-up in the AL MVP race to the Yankees' Aaron Judge last season, the Royals are primed to keep progressing in the playoffs. Witt finished with 32 HRs, 109 RBIs and a .332 BA in 2024.
Royals, LHP Cole Ragans agree to 3-year extension
The Royals did not confirm financial terms, but multiple sources reported the deal is worth $13.25 million.
Ragans, 27, who will be a free agent following the 2028 season, will earn $1.25 million in 2025, $4.5 million in 2026 and $7.5 million in 2027, according to ESPN.
In his second season in Kansas City in 2024, Ragans emerged as the staff's ace and helped the club reach the postseason, posting an 11-9 record and a 3.14 ERA in 32 starts.
He led the American League with 10.8 strikeouts per nine innings, finishing with 223 whiffs along with 67 walks in 186 1/3 innings. In two postseason starts, he went 1-1 with a 0.90 ERA, allowing one run in 10 innings.
Ragans was a first-round pick (No. 30 overall) by the Texas Rangers in the 2016 draft, but endured two Tommy John surgeries and didn't reach the majors until 2022. After 26 appearances (nine starts) over two seasons with Texas, he was traded to the Royals in June 2023 in exchange for Aroldis Chapman and joined Kansas City's rotation.
In three seasons in the majors, Ragans is 18-17 with a 3.46 ERA in 70 games (53 starts) spanning 322 1/3 innings, with 363 strikeouts and 124 walks.
Reports: Royals adding former Phillies closer Carlos Estevez
Estevez, an All-Star in 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels, split last season between the Angels and the Philadelphia Phillies, who acquired him on July 27 ahead of the trade deadline last summer.
The contract is worth a reported $22 million, though the Royals are yet to confirm the deal.
Estevez, who turned 32 on Dec. 28, was a combined 4-5 with a 2.45 ERA, 26 saves, 12 walks and 50 strikeouts in 55 innings over 54 relief appearances last season.
He has a career 27-31 record with a 4.21 ERA, 82 saves, 161 walks and 440 strikeouts in 419 1/3 innings over 438 relief appearances for the Colorado Rockies (2016-17, 2019-22), Angels (2023-24) and Phillies (2024). He missed the 2018 season because of injuries.
Kansas City was 86-76 last season and made the playoffs for the first time since 2015, sweeping the Baltimore Orioles in the American League wild-card round 2-0 before falling to the New York Yankees in the ALDS 3-1.
Reports: RHP Michael Lorenzen re-signing with Royals
Per ESPN, Lorenzen agreed to a one-year, $7 million deal with a mutual $12 million option for 2026. MLB.com reported that the mutual option includes a $1.5 million buyout.
Acquired from the Texas Rangers in a trade deadline deal, the 33-year-old Lorenzen went 2-0 with a 1.57 ERA in 28 2/3 innings over seven games (six starts) with Kansas City. Overall in 2024, he was 7-6 with a 3.31 ERA in 130 1/3 innings over 26 games (24 starts).
The 10-year veteran was a first-round pick by the Reds in 2013 and spent his first seven seasons with Cincinnati (2015-21). Lorenzen, a 2023 All-Star, has also played for the Los Angeles Angels (2022), Detroit Tigers (2023) and Philadelphia Phillies (2023).
In 368 career games (93 starts), the Anaheim, Calif., native is 47-44 with a 3.99 ERA over 854 1/3 innings. In the playoffs, Lorenzen has gone 0-1 with a 1.17 ERA in 7 2/3 innings over six relief outings.
