Gritty Guardians announce their return with Opening Day win over Royals

It says something when a team is able to overcome one thing that may go wrong during the course of a game. When it comes to the Cleveland Guardians' 7-4 extra-innings win on Opening Day over the Kansas City Royals, so much can be said that it can fill a novel.

Cleveland found themselves behind the eight ball before the game even started. Tanner Bibee had been announced as the Guardians' Opening Day starter against the Royals, but would end up being scratched with an illness. Going from a Cy Young canddiate in Bibee to a serviceable veteran in Ben Lively is far from ideal, and perhaps even swayed the opinon of who most thought would win this particular contest. Good thing the Guardians weren't listening.

Lively was able to deliver 5 innings of solid work on the mound for the Guardians, his only real blemish being a three-run homer given up in the 3rd inning to Vinnie Pasquantino. Besides that, Lively did more than enough to keep Cleveland in the game, a fitting performance from the veteran right-hander who seems to fit the gritty personality this team embraces.

A duo of grittiness and fundamentally sound play saved the Guardians in the 8th inning. Cleveland was clinging to a one-run lead while Kansas City had men on the corners with nobody out. A series of baserunning blunders combined with some smart defensive play from Cleveland's infield resulted in no runs scoring and two outs being recorded in a matter of seconds. This was a situation in which many teams give up at least one run, but precise execution by Cleveland kept the Royals off the board, and it kept their lead momentarily intact.

Coming on in the 9th in an attempt to close out the game, Emmanuel Clase would allow the Royals to score, blowing his first save opportunity of the season. This was somewhat foreign territory for the Guardians, as Clase blew only three save chances all of last year. So, when it comes to familiarity in this situation, Cleveland did not have a whole lot of in-game practice. Being able to successfully navigate a set of circumstances that they are unaccustomed to says a lot about this team and how well they respond to adversity.

There were multiple opportunities in this game that would have been far too much for them to overcome, but that is the difference between the Guardians and teams that crumble under pressure. This Cleveland team is built to withstand and even succeed in these types of situations, embodying a spirit of grittiness that few, if any, can match.