Cecconi Near No-Hitter, Guardians Crush Royals and Advance

CLEVELAND – Slade Cecconi came close to breaking Cleveland’s no-hitter drought, but the effort fell short in the eighth inning. The Guardians dominated Kansas City with a 10-2 victory on Monday night, surpassing the Royals in the race for the American League wild card.Cecconi, with a 6-6 record, was just six outs away from achieving the first no-hitter of the season in the Major Leagues, and the first for Cleveland since Len Barker’s perfect game in 1981. However, Michael Massey of Kansas City hit a single to start the eighth inning.In Cecconi’s 95th launch, Massey connected a 2-1 fastball to left-center field. The right-handed pitcher received a warm ovation from the crowd at Progressive Field before Cecconi got Carter Jensen to hit into a double play.Cleveland (73-70) achieved its fourth consecutive victory, surpassing the Royals (73-71) and moving up to second place in the American League Central Division. Before this four-game series, Cleveland was 2.5 games behind Seattle for the third and final wild card spot.Kyle Manzardo, Daniel Schneemann, and Nolan Jones each drove in two runs for Cleveland, which set season highs with 16 hits and seven doubles.The Guardians punished Ryan Bergert (2-2) with four doubles and six runs in the fourth inning, establishing an 8-0 lead. C.J. Kayfus, Brayan Rocchio, Schneemann, and Jones hit the doubles.Royals All-Star shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. was not in the starting lineup for the third straight game due to back spasms. Manager Matt Quatraro reported that Witt ran and made some fielding plays before the game without problems, and it was possible that he would see “action in the game”.Witt did not enter the game, but is expected to play on Tuesday.