Guardians, Royals Set for Afternoon Finale After Pitchers’ Duel

CLEVELAND (Interstat) — The Cleveland Guardians and Kansas City Royals will conclude a three-game series Wednesday afternoon at Progressive Field, one day after a tense pitchers’ duel decided the set.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:10 p.m. EDT under cloudy skies with a game-time temperature near 35 degrees.

The Guardians (7-5) evened the series with a 2-1 victory Tuesday behind a dominant start from Gavin Williams. The Royals (5-6) will look to secure a series win in the rubber match.

Kansas City is expected to start left-hander Joey Cantillo (0-0). Cantillo will make his first appearance of the 2026 season. The originally listed probable pitcher, Cole Ragans (0-2), is apparently being pushed back.

Cleveland will counter with right-hander Gavin Williams (2-1, 1.53 ERA), who is coming off a stellar outing against these same Royals. On Tuesday, Williams held Kansas City to one hit and one earned run over 5 2/3 innings, striking out eight. In his previous start, he threw seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts in a win at Los Angeles.

A player to watch for the Royals is left-hander Noah Cameron, who took the hard-luck loss Tuesday. Cameron allowed just one earned run on six hits over 5 2/3 innings, striking out five. In his start prior, he earned a win against Minnesota.

The series has been defined by close games and strong pitching. The Royals won the opener 4-2 on Monday before the Guardians’ 2-1 victory Tuesday. Kansas City’s bullpen has been sharp in the series, with Daniel Lynch IV and Nick Mears combining for 2 1/3 scoreless innings of relief in the loss.

According to Interstat’s game simulator, the projected final score is Guardians 5, Royals 4. The over/under is set at 7.5 runs.

Following the game, the Royals will travel to open a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday. The Guardians have an off-day Thursday before beginning a six-game road trip in Atlanta on Friday.