Sports
Tanner Bibee aims for elusive first win as Guardians face Royals
Apr 12, 2026; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Cleveland Guardians pitcher Tanner Bibee (28) pitches against the Atlanta Braves during the first inning at Truist Park. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images The Cleveland Guardians have won enough to compete for the early lead in the middling American League Central. However, they’ve struggled to win with Tanner Bibee on the mound.
Meanwhile, the Kansas City Royals are amid their most successful stretch of the season — just as veteran Michael Wacha has cooled off from his strong start on the hill.
Bibee again tries for his first winning decision of 2026, while the visiting Guardians look to keep Wacha and the Royals from a fourth straight victory in Monday’s opener of a four-game set.
The Guardians won their season opener with Bibee (0-4, 4.08 ERA) getting the ball, but managed just one run of support while he’s been on the mound in losing his next six starts. Though the right-hander, who has posted double-digit win totals in each of his previous three MLB campaigns, has failed to complete more than six innings in any 2026 start, he’s yielded more than two earned runs only twice this year.
Bibee surrendered a run, four hits and three walks while striking out six over five innings of a 1-0 home loss to Tampa Bay on Tuesday — the second consecutive start the Guardians failed to score for him.
“Pitchers are playing a very different sport, inside a sport,” Bibee said. “I feel like for pitchers, especially starting pitchers, you just got to worry about what you’re doing.
“You can’t affect anything else other than what you’re doing on the mound.”
Bibee is 4-0 with a 3.06 ERA in nine career starts against Kansas City, and the Guardians had won six straight outings of his in the series before falling 4-2 at home on April 6. He allowed five hits and a walk through 4 2/3 innings, but just one run.
Bobby Witt Jr. and Vinnie Pasquantino combined for three hits versus Bibee in that contest. Those two Royals, together, are 17-for-37 against him.
Cleveland won two of three versus Kansas City last month and just took two of three from the Athletics. However, the Royals are 8-3 since dropping eight straight and swept a three-game weekend series at Seattle.
“We don’t want to take that for granted. Just keep working,” Kansas City reliever Daniel Lynch IV told Royals.TV.
Wacha (2-2, 3.13 ERA) is 3-2 with a 2.32 ERA in nine career starts against the Guardians, and yielded a solo homer to Steven Kwan and two other hits over seven innings while opposing Bibee in that April matchup.
Wacha allowed three runs and 13 hits over 27 innings while going 2-0 in his first four 2026 starts. However, the right-hander, who turns 35 in July, has given up 10 runs and 15 hits over 10 1/3 in losing back-to-back outings.
He yielded eight hits, four walks and four runs, including a three-run homer, during Wednesday’s 5-2 loss to the Athletics.
“You have to keep going and make pitches in the zone, over the plate and get them out that way,” Wacha said. “It’s pitch after pitch that you got to execute and got to command.”
Kwan is 7-for-21 versus Wacha, and a career .310 hitter at Kansas City. His rookie teammate Chase DeLauter went 0-for-2 with a walk against Wacha in April but is 15-for-27 during an eight-game hitting streak.
Pasquantino is batting .188 in 2026, but he’s 5-for-14 in May.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees bring surging offense into rematch vs. Rangers
May 4, 2026; Bronx, New York, USA; New York Yankees left fielder Jasson Dominguez (24) hits an RBI single during the eighth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images The New York Yankees did not do much offensively last week and yet recorded a series win in a three-game set against the host Texas Rangers.
The Yankees, who battered the Baltimore Orioles in the past four games, hope to keep rolling at the plate Tuesday night when they host Texas in the opener of a three-game series.
The Yankees are 14-2 in their past 16 games, and two of those wins were in Texas, where they scored seven runs in a pair of close games.
New York is seeking its fifth straight win after scoring 39 runs against Baltimore. The Yankees totaled 47 hits, 24 walks and went 18-for-38 with runners in scoring position in the series.
“It’s been great,” New York starting pitcher Cam Schlittler said of New York’s offense. “We’ve been on a really good roll these last couple of series. It’s fun to see one through nine contributing, putting up great at-bats and driving runs in.”
New York concluded the Baltimore series with a 12-1 rout on Monday. Aaron Judge has 11 of his 14 homers this season during his past 21 games and hit a two-run blast in the first inning before adding a two-run single in a six-run eighth.
After the Yankees faced an opponent with a 4.96 ERA, they will face Texas’ Jacob deGrom (2-1, 2.01 ERA) for the second time in a week.
The right-hander took the loss against New York last Tuesday despite allowing one run on six hits in six innings in a 3-2 setback.
He yielded an RBI double to Cody Bellinger in the first inning after a single by Judge and held the Yankees hitless in the next 11 at-bats. The former Cy Young Award winner is 2-5 with a 2.97 ERA in nine career starts against the Yankees.
deGrom is part of a pitching staff with a 3.66 ERA, but the Rangers are hitting .235 and their 127 runs are the fewest in the American League.
Texas has dropped nine of its past 14 games and has scored more than five runs in only one of those contests. Texas also has scored fewer than three runs in that span seven times, including the final two games of its series in Detroit.
After earning a 5-4 victory on Friday, the Rangers went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the past two games.
Texas’ defense faltered in a 7-1 loss to the Tigers on Sunday night, including center fielder Evan Carter failing to finish a diving catch.
“We weren’t real fundamentally sound like we’re typically used to,” Texas manager Skip Schumaker said. “We had some really good plays. The outfield had some really good plays, there were some plays in the infield that were really good as well, but there were some plays that we’re used to making that we didn’t.”
While Corey Seager collected a hit in each of the games in Detroit, he is 4-for-27 in his past seven contests. Seager’s slump is coinciding with Josh Jung batting .378 during a 12-game hitting streak.
New York right-hander Elmer Rodriguez (0-1, 4.50 ERA), who is in the rotation until Carlos Rodon completes his rehab from left elbow surgery, will make his second career start. He debuted Wednesday afternoon in Texas and allowed two runs on four hits in four innings of a 3-0 loss.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Royals out for a second win against Guardians in AL Central showdown
May 4, 2026; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (7) steals third base against the Cleveland Guardians during the seventh inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-Imagn Images The Kansas City Royals are in the midst of their most successful stretch of the young season.
Now, the Royals will try for a fifth consecutive win when they continue their four-game home series with the Cleveland Guardians, who they are chasing in the American League Central, on Tuesday night.
Kansas City trailed 2-0 early Monday, then scored four runs in the fourth inning en route to a 6-2 victory over Cleveland.
Bobby Witt Jr. led off the frame with a solo homer, and Nick Loftin capped the big inning with a two-out, two-run tiebreaking single for the Royals, who have averaged 5.8 runs amid their 9-3 stretch that’s followed an eight-game losing streak.
“I think the intensity, pitch-to-pitch, really (sticks) to me,” Kansas City manager Matt Quatraro said of his team’s performance of late.
“Not one guy is trying to be the hero.”
Witt is batting .302 with three homers and eight RBIs in the past 15 games. Meanwhile, teammate Vinnie Pasquantino is 7-for-18 in four games this month after ending April with a .165 average.
“It’s not about getting 10 hits in a row with runners in scoring position,” Pasquantino said. “It’s about just having quality at-bats, making the pitcher work.”
However, Witt and Pasquantino are a combined 4-for-36 against right-hander Gavin Williams (5-1, 2.70 ERA), the scheduled Cleveland starter on Tuesday.
The Guardians are 6-1 when Williams has pitched this season. All of those victories followed a loss in his 2026 debut at Seattle on March 27, and they include the 5 2/3 innings he threw during a 2-1 win over Kansas City on April 7 — when he yielded only a Carter Jensen homer.
Williams is 2-1 with a 2.28 ERA in nine career starts against the Royals.
After allowing a season-high six runs in six innings of an 8-6 win at Toronto on April 24, Williams gave up an unearned run and struck out nine without a walk in Wednesday’s 3-1 victory over Tampa Bay.
“When Gavin throws strikes, that’s what you get,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said.
Cleveland has lost two games in a row following a three-game winning streak. David Fry hit a two-run homer and had two of the five hits Monday for the Guardians, who have been outscored 13-3 in the past two contests.
Jose Ramirez singled in the series opener, but the Cleveland star continues to struggle while batting .218, well below his career average of .278.
Steven Kwan is another Cleveland star who is scuffling at the plate. He’s 0-for-8 in the past two games — dropping his batting average to .217. On May 5 of last season, his average was .333.
Ramirez and Kwan will try their luck Tuesday against right-hander Stephen Kolek, who will come off the injured list (left oblique strain) to make his season debut. He is stepping in for scheduled starter Noah Cameron, who has been scratched due to tightness in his lower back.
The Royals acquired Kolek (5-7, 3.51 ERA in 2025) from the San Diego Padres last season at the trade deadline. They received Kolek and right-hander Ryan Bergert for catcher Freddy Fermin.
With the Royals, Kolek started five games and was 1-2 with a 1.91 ERA. In his two losses, the Royals scored a combined two runs.
Kolek has faced the Guardians twice (one start) and has no decisions and a 6.75 ERA.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cubs carry majors-best win streak into rematch vs. skidding Reds
May 4, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Cubs right fielder Michael Conforto (20) celebrates with teammates after hitting a game winning solo home run against the Cincinnati Reds during the ninth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs will aim to extend their winning streak to a majors-best seven games on Tuesday night when they continue their four-game series against the visiting Cincinnati Reds.
The Cubs were three outs away from losing on Monday night after a lengthy rain delay, but Nico Hoerner’s sacrifice fly and Michael Conforto’s solo home run in the bottom of the ninth inning lifted the team to a dramatic 5-4 win over the Reds, who have lost four straight games.
Chicago resides in first place in the National League Central, a division in which each team is above .500.
“It tells me everyone is playing well,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell told the Chicago Sun-Times. “It also tells me we haven’t played too many games in the division yet.”
The Cubs have won 12 straight games at Wrigley Field, the team’s longest home winning streak since it won 14 in a row in 2008.
A winner of 16 of its last 19 games, Chicago will turn to right-hander Jameson Taillon (2-1, 4.41 ERA) to start Tuesday’s game.
Taillon allowed three runs on three hits in a season-high seven innings of a 5-4 victory over the San Diego Padres last Wednesday.
He is 7-7 with a 4.46 ERA in 20 career appearances against the Reds.
The Cubs keep finding different ways to win, with different players stepping up.
Conforto, pinch-hitting for Matt Shaw, hammered a 3-2 fastball from Reds closer Emilio Pagan into the seats in left-center field to end the game on Monday. It was Conforto’s first homer in a Cubs uniform and the first walk-off homer in his 12-year major league career.
Cincinnati called up top-10 prospect Chase Petty on Monday, and Petty delivered a solid start of 5 2/3 innings with three runs allowed on four hits. He retired nine of the first 11 Cubs he faced and another eight in a row after allowing a home run to Seiya Suzuki.
But with Nick Lodolo expected to come off the injured list from a blister on Friday, Petty could be headed back to Triple-A.
On Tuesday, Cincinnati left-hander Andrew Abbott (1-2, 5.97 ERA) will start against the Cubs. He earned his first win of the season on Thursday against the Colorado Rockies, 6-4, allowing two earned runs on five hits in six innings.
Abbott is 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA in seven career starts against the Cubs.
The Reds have played 14 games decided by two or fewer runs this season. They had a 12-game winning streak in those games but have lost their last two by one run, including Monday night. They have seven wins in one-run games this season.
“Nothing’s changed as far as our mindset as a team,” Pagan told The Cincinnati Enquirer moments after giving up the decisive home run to Conforto. “We know we’re really good. We’ve played a lot of close ballgames, and quite honestly I haven’t held up my end of the bargain.”
–Field Level Media
