On Thursday night, Cleveland Guardians’ rookie right-hander Tanner Bibee will be on the mound as they open a four-game series against the Kansas City Royals. Bibee has been in excellent form recently, winning his last three starts. In his most recent outing against the Chicago Cubs, he allowed just three hits and struck out nine over 5 2/3 innings.
Bibee has expressed his desire to pitch at least six innings in every start this season, and he will be looking to continue that trend against the Royals. This will be his 13th start of the season and his first career start against Kansas City.
The Guardians could receive a boost in their lineup with the potential return of slugging first baseman Josh Naylor, who leads the team with 60 RBIs. Naylor has missed the past two games due to a sore right wrist but is hopeful to be back in action.
Steven Kwan, the Guardians’ left fielder, has been performing well at the plate with three consecutive multi-hit games. He has been hitting .414 in his last six games. Amed Rosario has also been driving in runs consistently, having recorded at least one RBI in five straight games, which is a career-best for him.
Meanwhile, the Royals have struggled to generate offense recently, mustering only four hits in their last game against the Minnesota Twins. Maikel Garcia has been a standout performer for Kansas City, hitting .565 with six runs scored in his last six games.
On Thursday, the Royals will start right-hander Jordan Lyles despite dealing with an illness. Lyles missed his previous turn in the rotation but is expected to be without restrictions in his return to the mound. He earned his first win of the year in his last outing against the Tampa Bay Rays, despite allowing four runs on eight hits over six innings.
Lyles has a 2-1 record with a 4.67 ERA in three career appearances (all starts) against Cleveland.
Both teams will be looking to ignite their offense and secure a victory in this upcoming series opener. Pregame hits the air at 5:30, with first pitch from Progressive Field at 6:10 on KTTN AM 1600 and FM 98.3 and 92.3.
Other MLB games for Thursday, July 6, 2023:
Philadelphia at Tampa Bay – 5:40 PM
Oakland at Detroit – 12:10 PM
Toronto at Chicago (AL) – 4:10 PM (Doubleheader)
Baltimore at New York (AL) – 6:05 PM
Texas at Boston – 6:10 PM
Kansas City at Cleveland – 6:10 PM
Seattle at Houston – 7:10 PM
Cincinnati at Washington – 12:05 PM
Chicago (NL) at Milwaukee – 1:10 PM
St. Louis at Miami – 5:40 PM
New York (NL) at Arizona – 8:40 PM
Pittsburgh at Los Angeles (NL) – 9:10 PM