Royals Opening Day Ends In Disappointment Against Cleveland [Pictures]

With opening day at Kauffman Stadium, I think it's safe to say spring is in the air, baseball is back, and hope for an engaging playoff run for the Royals hasn't been this high since the start of the 2015 season.

It was a magical day at Kauffman Stadium, as 39,393 people packed it, hoping to witness the Royals first regular-season victory. That wasn't to be, as the Royals dropped the home opener against the Guardians 7-4 in ten innings. Below, we'll get into what went right and wrong for the Royals.

But first, take in the sights of Opening Day 2025 at the K.

Game Highlights

Opening day 2025 for the Royals played out very much like opening day the last two years: with a loss. The game's highlight for Royals fans had to be Vinnie Pasquantino's three-run home run in the third inning. Unfortunately, while the game never seemed out of reach for the Royals, it was a rather frustrating day for both the players and fans.

Cole Ragans told the media that his mechanics were off in the middle innings. Reliever Angel Zerpa was brought in for a left-on-left matchup against the Guardians Kyle Manzardo, who hit it out of the park on Zerpa's first pitch, giving Cleveland the lead.

No Royal reached base after Pasquantino's third inning home run until the eighth, when the Royals spoiled their opportunity for a comeback with some disgustingly horrible base running. Down by a run in the bottom of the eighth, Dairon Blanco was pinch running at third, and Kyle Isbel was on first with no out.

Jonathan India bounced a grounder to third as Blanco broke for home on contact.  Guardians third baseman Jose Ramirez and catcher Bo Naylor got Blanco in a rundown. Isbel, meanwhile, went to second and tried to get to third and wound up being the second out of a double play.

The Royals made it a game in the ninth, sending it to extra innings, and the Royals top delivers Erceg, Harvey, and Estevez looked good pitching the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings. However, lefty Sam Long was burned by Cleveland's Steven Kwan and Manzardo, who just smoked a two-strike slider. The final was a frustrating 7-4 loss to the Guaradians.