The Royals are getting a lot of help from their defense.
The Kansas City Royals needed a good start from Michael Wacha on Monday night in Cleveland, and the veteran right-hander gave them exactly that.
Wacha tossed seven innings of one-run ball in a 4-2 win over the Guardians at Progressive Field, moving the Royals back to .500 at 5-5 on the season.
But it wasn't just the pitching that stood out. It was the defense behind him, and Wacha wanted to make sure everyone knew it after the game.
"We've got some absolute studs out there playing defense," Wacha said. "It was another night where they were showcasing it. It's fun being on that mound knowing we got those guys behind us."
A Double Play You Don't See Every Day
The biggest defensive highlight came in the bottom of the fourth inning, when the Royals turned a 5-6-4-3 double play that hadn't been done in Major League Baseball since 1995.
Rhys Hoskins lined a ball off Maikel Garcia's glove at third base, and the ball trickled over to shortstop Bobby Witt Jr., who fired to Jonathan India at second for the force. India then threw to first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, who stretched to get Hoskins in time.
Every infielder touched the ball, and the inning was over just like that.
The play did more than just look good on a highlight reel.
It kept the game tied at 1-1 and kept Wacha's pitch count in check, which helped him stay in the game through seven full innings.
For a guy who has allowed just one earned run across 13 innings in two starts this season, that kind of support from the guys behind him is a big reason why.
Wacha's Early-Season Command
Wacha's only real mistake against Cleveland was a fastball that Steven Kwan drove down the right-field line for a solo homer in the third.
Other than that, the Guardians managed just three hits total against him.
He threw 102 pitches with 62 strikes, mixing his four-seam fastball with his changeup and cutter to keep Cleveland off balance.
Wacha had been scratched from his scheduled April 3 start against Milwaukee because of an illness, so this was his first time on the mound in eight days.
The extra rest didn't seem to bother him at all.
The Royals also got a boost from their middle infield in the sixth, when Pasquantino caught a line drive off Kyle Manzardo's bat and threw to Witt to double off Chase DeLauter at second.
That was two inning-ending double plays in a game where Wacha was working around some walks and needing his defense to step up behind him.
The Bigger Picture for Kansas City
Offensively, Carter Jensen's go-ahead solo homer in the sixth and Jonathan India's two-run shot in the eighth gave the Royals enough breathing room to close things out.
Lucas Erceg locked it down with a clean ninth for his third save in three chances.
The win was a good example of what this Royals team can be when the pitching and defense are clicking together, and Wacha sounded like a pitcher who knows he doesn't have to do it all by himself.
Kansas City continues its series in Cleveland on Tuesday afternoon before heading home for a weekend set against the White Sox.