KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Thursday was opening day in Major League Baseball and the Cleveland team took the field for the first time as the Guardians.
Bobby Witt Jr. capped his highly anticipated big league debut with his first hit, a go-ahead double with two outs in the eighth inning, sending the Kansas City Royals to a 3-1 victory over the rechristened franchise.
Andrew Benintendi drove in Witt after his clutch hit, giving Royals reliever Scott Barlow a cushion.
And after a perfect eighth, Barlow struck out Myles Straw with runners on the corners in the ninth to end it.
In a matchup of former Cy Young Award winners, Cleveland ace Shane Bieber and erstwhile Royals star Zach Greinke dueled to a 1-all stalemate before turning the game over to the bullpens on a cold day at Kauffman Stadium.