Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis L. Ortiz (45) throws a pitch during the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on March 31. Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

Cleveland Guardians' Trade Acquisition Throws Gem and Joins Rare Team History of Last 30 Years

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Brady Farkas | Last updated Apr 13, 2025 8:42 AM ET

The Cleveland Guardians moved to 8-6 on the season after beating the Kansas City Royals 6-3 on Saturday afternoon at Progressive Field.

The Guardians are currently in second place in the American League Central while the Royals are in third at 7-8.

The story of the game was the pitching of Luis L. Ortiz for Cleveland. The righty, who was acquired in an offseason trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates, went 5.2 innings, surrendering just one run on one hit. He walked two and struck out 10. He earned his first win of the season.

Ortiz also joined some rare organizational history of the last 30 years, according to @JayHayKid of Underdog Fantasy:

Luis Ortiz joins Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, Triston McKenzie, Shane Bieber, Bartolo Colon, Josh Tomlin, Danny Salazar, Corey Kluber, Aaron Civale, Trevor Bauer & Gavin Williams as the “only” Cleveland pitchers in the Wild Card Era with a start of 10+ K & 1/0 hits allowed.

Luis Ortiz joins Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger, Triston McKenzie, Shane Bieber, Bartolo Colon, Josh Tomlin, Danny Salazar, Corey Kluber, Aaron Civale, Trevor Bauer & Gavin Williams as the “only” Cleveland pitchers in the Wild Card Era with a start of 10+ K & 1/0 hits allowed.
— nugget chef (@jayhaykid) April 13, 2025

Now 26, Ortiz is in the fourth year of his career with Pittsburgh and Cleveland. He's 13-15 with a 4.06 ERA lifetime. This year, he's struck out 15 batters in 16.1 innings.

The two teams will play again on Sunday afternoon with first pitch coming at 1:40 p.m. ET. All-Star lefty Cole Ragans will be on the mound for Kansas City while Ben Lively takes the ball for Cleveland. Ragans, one of the best strikeout artists in the game, is 0-0 with a 2.81 ERA thus far.

Lively is 0-1 with a 4.40 ERA.

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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