MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS AT KANSAS CITY ROYALS
09/25/2026
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MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
CLEVELAND GUARDIANS AT KANSAS CITY ROYALS
GAME ID: 2968 - FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH , 2026 - GAME LOG
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E
Cleveland Guardians (72-88) 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 2 6 10 0
Kansas City Royals (69-91) 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 5 7 0
Guardians Snatch Late-Game, 6-5 Win
The Kansas City Royals got a sterling performance from pitcher Simon Mercedes, but the Cleveland Guardians still prevailed, 6-5. Mercedes threw 6.1 innings of shutout ball. Bobby Young converted his 7th save in 13 tries. The loss makes Kansas City 69-91.

Who knows how it would've ended, had it not been for Ernie Jones? The 29-year old third baseman Jones stroked a run-scoring double in the top of the tenth inning to put Cleveland up, 5-4. For the game, he was 3 for 5, including 1 double and 2 singles.

"The game of baseball will test you," said Tristan Bugbie, the Cleveland skipper. "This one tested us."
CLEVELAND BATTING LINESCORE KANSAS CITY BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
J. Álvarez RF 4 1 0 0 1 0 2 .273 6 45
J. Martínez SS 5 0 1 0 0 3 2 .258 9 55
E. Jones 3B 5 1 3 1 0 2 1 .253 24 81
M. Papi DH 5 0 1 1 0 2 2 .271 21 79
L. Thompson 1B 5 1 1 0 0 2 2 .250 8 61
T. Taylor CF 4 2 1 0 1 1 1 .225 9 40
R. Pinto C 4 0 0 0 0 3 3 .224 6 48
H. Bertolucci LF 3 1 2 0 0 0 0 .333 0 4
R. Walker 2B 3 0 1 4 0 0 2 .391 1 6
Totals 38 6 10 6 2 13 15      
BATTING
Doubles: J. Martínez (40, 6th Inning off S. Mercedes, 0 on, 2 outs) , L. Thompson (29, 7th Inning off J. Garza, 0 on, 1 out) , R. Walker (4, 7th Inning off J. Garza, 3 on, 2 outs) , H. Bertolucci (3, 9th Inning off E. Escoboza, 1 on, 1 out) , M. Papi (30, 10th Inning off E. Escoboza, 1 on, 1 out) , E. Jones (29, 10th Inning off E. Escoboza, 1 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: J. Martínez 2 , E. Jones 4 , M. Papi 2 , L. Thompson 2 , T. Taylor , H. Bertolucci 3 , R. Walker 2
2-out RBI: R. Walker
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , J. Álvarez 2 , J. Martínez , E. Jones , T. Taylor
GIDP: M. Papi
Sac Fly: R. Walker
Hit by Pitch: H. Bertolucci
Team LOB: 7
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
H. Masson LF 5 1 1 1 0 1 1 .294 12 67
I. Rodriguez SS 4 1 1 0 1 1 1 .205 5 34
D. García RF 4 0 1 1 1 0 1 .248 28 83
J. Washington 1B 4 2 2 2 0 0 2 .319 12 55
C. Jones 2B 4 0 1 0 0 1 1 .268 15 50
G. Lópes CF 4 0 1 1 0 1 1 .287 6 42
D. Moon DH 3 0 0 0 1 1 1 .298 12 63
W. Burgess 3B 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .146 2 13
   a-D. Carlisle PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .245 1 8
   c-G. Encarnación 3B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .194 2 4
J. Fok C 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .249 1 11
   b-J. Reeves PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .196 0 12
   d-W. Payan C 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .236 9 38
Totals 36 5 7 5 3 7 13      
a - D. Carlisle pinch hit for W. Burgess in the 9th
b - J. Reeves pinch hit for J. Fok in the 9th
c - G. Encarnación substituted for D. Carlisle in the 10th
d - W. Payan substituted for J. Reeves in the 10th

BATTING
Home Runs: J. Washington (12, 1st Inning off J. Acosta, 1 on, 2 outs) , H. Masson (12, 5th Inning off J. Acosta, 0 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: H. Masson 4 , I. Rodriguez , D. García , J. Washington 5 , C. Jones , G. Lópes
2-out RBI: D. García , J. Washington
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: J. Washington , J. Reeves
Team LOB: 5

BASERUNNING
SB: I. Rodriguez (13)
CS: D. García (6)

FIELDING
Double Plays: 1 (Rodriguez-Jones-Washington)
CLEVELAND PITCHING LINESCORE KANSAS CITY PITCHING LINESCORE
Player IP H R ER BB K HR BF PI ERA   
J. Acosta 7.0 4 3 3 2 5 2 27 110 4.51   
A. Heredia 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 7 3.98   
L. Aguiler W (9-5), BS (9) 1.0 2 1 1 1 1 0 6 22 3.80   
B. Young SV (7) 1.0 1 1 0 0 1 0 3 17 3.61   
PITCHING
Game Score: J. Acosta 60
Batters Faced: J. Acosta 27, A. Heredia 3, L. Aguiler 6, B. Young 3
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: J. Acosta 3-13, A. Heredia 2-1, L. Aguiler 2-0, B. Young 1-0
Pitches - Strikes: J. Acosta 110-73, A. Heredia 7-6, L. Aguiler 22-12, B. Young 17-10
Player IP H R ER BB K HR BF PI ERA   
S. Mercedes 6.1 3 0 0 1 8 0 22 93 4.18   
J. Garza BS (1) 0.2 2 3 3 1 1 0 6 19 3.61   
K. Martin 1.0 1 0 0 0 3 0 4 16 4.56   
E. Escoboza L (4-8) 2.0 4 3 2 0 1 0 10 29 2.68   
PITCHING
Game Score: S. Mercedes 74
Batters Faced: S. Mercedes 22, J. Garza 6, K. Martin 4, E. Escoboza 10
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: S. Mercedes 6-4, J. Garza 0-1, K. Martin 0-0, E. Escoboza 1-4
Pitches - Strikes: S. Mercedes 93-57, J. Garza 19-11, K. Martin 16-10, E. Escoboza 29-23
Hit Batsmen: J. Garza
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Simon Mercedes
Ballpark: Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy (57 degrees), wind blowing out to center at 10 mph
Start Time: 6:40 PM CT
Time: 3:30
Attendance: 30835
Friday, September 25th , 2026 - OOTP Baseball 27.4 Build 76