While the Kansas City Royals continue to surge, the Cleveland Guardians are again heading in the wrong direction.

The Royals can record a sixth straight victory by handing the visiting Guardians their fourth consecutive defeat Wednesday night.

Kansas City lost eight in a row from April 12-20, but is 10-3 since. The Royals have also outscored their opponents 63-39 during their current 9-2 stretch, which included holding the Guardians to a two-run homer in Monday's 6-2 victory and a three-run shot in a 5-3 win from Tuesday.

"It starts with pitching. ... Offense is just scratching away," Kansas City's Michael Massey, who hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the fourth inning Tuesday, told Royals.TV.

"It's May, you don't want to get too crazy about it."

Kansas City star Bobby Witt Jr. had two more hits Tuesday, and is batting .313 in the past 16 games.

Scheduled Royals starter Cole Ragans (1-4, 5.29 ERA) has been inconsistent this season, alternating poor and solid starts among his first seven. On Friday at Seattle, Ragans allowed four runs on three homers, plus one other hit and three walks during 5 1/3 innings of a 7-6 Royals win.

The left-hander and 2024 All-Star has yielded 10 home runs in 32 1/3 innings this season.

Ragans, though, has made the most of his two 2026 home starts, allowing one earned run and striking out 19 over 12 innings.

He also will look to last longer than the two-thirds of an inning he pitched during the Royals' 10-2 loss at Cleveland on April 8. Ragans gave up three runs and two hits on just 18 pitches before exiting with a thumb issue, but hasn't missed a start going forward.

"I want to be out there," Ragans said.

"Just want to keep going."

The Guardians hope to again get at Ragans early, but they've managed just six runs during their three-game skid. Losers in seven of 10, Cleveland has totaled nine hits through the first two of this set, and briefly led Tuesday via Rhys Hoskins' three-run homer.

"I think it's just kind of the ebbs and flows of the game," Hoskins said of the Guardians' current slump.

"We have just run into some good pitching. ... We still got a chance to split this series."

Guardians star Jose Ramirez has one hit in this series, and is batting .185 in his last 14 contests. He's also 2-for-14 versus Ragans.

Scheduled Cleveland starter Joey Cantillo (1-1, 3.67 ERA) has struggled to go deep into games this season, and he has yet to complete more than six innings in any of his seven 2026 starts. He lasted four innings Friday against the Athletics, giving up four runs, five hits and three walks of a contest the Guardians won 8-5.

One of the left-hander's better outings of 2026 came against the Royals on April 8, when he allowed two runs -- one earned -- and three hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out nine.

Cantillo is 2-1 with a 1.61 ERA in six career appearances (three starts) versus Kansas City.

The Royals' Isaac Collins has never faced Cantillo but was a triple shy of the cycle Tuesday. Hr is batting .382 with eight RBIs in his last 11 games.

-Field Level Media