Behind strong outing from Joey Cantillo, Guardians blank Royals 2-0 for fifth straight win

CLEVELAND — The Guardians are streaking again, and at the perfect time. In the thick of the American League wild card race, Cleveland won its fifth straight game Tuesday night, beating the Royals 2-0 at Progressive Field. A day after rotation mate Slade Cecconi took a no-hitter into the eighth inning, left-hander Joey Cantillo allowed only four hits over eight innings for the Guardians, who are 10-4 over their last 14 games. Cleveland entered the night trailing Seattle by 2½ games for the final postseason berth and Texas by 1½ games while leading Kansas City by a half-game. "That was some of the most fun I've had watching someone pitch this year," manager Stephen Vogt said of Cantillo's outing. "Two starts from being optioned (to the minors), it was about, 'Go and attack, go throw strikes, be free, be loose.' We saw the best velocity we've seen from him. He held his velocity, 93 (mph), 95 (mph), the whole game. "That was pitching 101 from Joey Cantillo tonight and that was a lot of fun to watch." Catcher Austin Hedges got an ideal view of Cantillo's excellence. "That's about as good as it gets, from getting ahead to putting guys away, getting quick outs. That was a clinic on starting pitching," he said. Of the four hits Cantillo surrendered, two were infield singles, as he offered up his second straight quality start since joining the Guardians' six-man rotation. "These games are important. Every game matters," Cantillo said. "I just want to show up for the guys and just get the job done each time out. This is the big leagues. We're facing the best teams in the world and you gotta show up. "Throwing strikes, it's a necessity. Really good things are going to happen when you're challenging hitters." Cantillo allowed two hits over the first five innings, retiring 17 straight from the final out in the second to the first out in the eighth before Jonathan India reached on a slow roller to second. India had both of the infield singles off Cantillo. Vogt sent Cantillo back out for the ninth, but he allowed a base hit to Kyle Isbel on his first pitch and was relieved by closer Cade Smith. "It was his game until somebody got on base," Vogt said. "I felt like the way he was throwing he earned that. Obviously these games are really meaningful, but we have Cade Smith, who's probably the best pitcher the last two years in baseball with stranding runners. We trust him." Jose Ramirez, who endured some recent offensive struggles, had three hits, including a solo home run in the opening inning. Ramirez had Cleveland's first two hits, adding a double in the fourth and scoring each of the Guardians' runs when David Fry followed with a two-base hit. He also had a single in the sixth before grounding into a double play with a chance for the cycle to end the eighth. Fry had two hits after entering the night batting only .162 over 59 games. "The best players in the game end up where they're supposed to end up at the end of the year," Vogt said of Ramirez. "It may look different at times, but we needed Hosey and David to step up tonight against (Royals starter Noah (Cameron) tonight." With a runner on first, Smith allowed a one-out single to Bobby Witt Jr. before striking out Vinnie Pasquantino and Salvador Perez to end the game. Hedges said the Guardians are in a prime position to make a postseason push over the final month of the regular season. "Our offense has been getting some timely hits, but our starting pitching is going deep and saving our bullpen, which is a big difference from last year," he said. "Now we got a fresh bullpen and starters with a lot of confidence. It's a problem for the rest of the league." The 1 hour, 58 minutes it took to play accounted for the Guardians' quickest game of the season. Contact Chris Assenheimer at (440) 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com. Like him on Facebook and follow him on X @CAwesomeheimer.