Aaron Civale limited the Kansas City Royals to two hits over seven shutout innings to pave the way for the Cleveland Guardians to breeze through a 3-0 victory Friday night.
Civale was dominant from start to finish. He led with his curveball, which accounted for 37% of his pitches and finished the night with a 32% CSW%. But Civale mixed in his cutter, four-seamer, and sinker masterfully, keeping the Royals off balance all night. Of the nine strikeouts he tallied, six of them caught the batter looking. Civale had them guessing. He certainly took advantage of a pitcher-friendly strike zone, but he was able to do so in large part because of his pinpoint control.