Rojas Torches Cleveland as KC Rolls 8-3

Josh Rojas went 2-for-2 with a home run and 4 RBI, doing more damage in two at-bats than most lineups manage in nine innings. Kansas City erased a two-run deficit, then blew the game open with a five-run sixth to beat Cleveland 8-3 on August 29.

Cleveland looked in control early. Angel Martínez launched a 381-foot home run to left in the second, scoring Adell and staking the Guardians to a 2-0 lead. That advantage held into the fifth — but it didn't survive it. Isaac Collins doubled to left, scoring Loftin and Tolbert to tie the game at 2-2. That two-run double was the decisive momentum shift: Cleveland's win probability dropped from 67% to 49% on a single swing. The Guardians never led again.

The sixth inning is where Kansas City buried this one. Salvador Perez doubled to center to score Witt Jr. and put KC ahead 3-2. Then Ramírez's fielding error at third allowed Caglianone to score, pushing the lead to 4-2. Rojas then singled to left, scoring Loftin and Rave to make it 6-2 — a three-run sequence that turned a one-run game into a rout. The story of the night was how thoroughly KC's lineup dismantled Cleveland's middle innings, with Nick Loftin scoring twice and Caglianone reaching base and scoring as part of that relentless sixth-inning parade.

Rojas wasn't done. He homered to right in the eighth — 360 feet, Rave scoring ahead of him — to push the final margin to 8-2 before Martínez added a consolation RBI single in the ninth for the 8-3 final. On the mound, Daniel Lynch IV gave Kansas City 3.1 innings with 2 earned runs before the bullpen took over; Nate Pearson was sharp with a clean inning of relief. For Cleveland, Foster Griffin gave 5.0 innings and allowed just 2 earned runs — the damage came after he exited. Logan Allen surrendered 3 hits and 2 earned runs in 2.0 innings of relief, and that's where the game slipped away for good. Rojas finishing 2-for-2 with 4 RBI while never making an out looks like the kind of performance that defines a series win.