Analysis: Lugo ran into trouble to open the second inning, allowing three consecutive hits to open the frame as Cleveland took a 1-0 lead. His control faded in the third inning with back-to-back walks to Steven Kwan and Jose Ramirez, with Kwan coming around to score on a sacrifice fly. After a clean fourth, Lugo allowed a homer to Kwan in the fifth inning, which gave the Guardians a 3-1 lead. He avoided the loss thanks to his offense, which rallied in the middle stages of the game to secure the 4-3 win. Lugo was outstanding a year ago with a 3.00 ERA over 206.2 regular-season innings, so this could be just a bump in the road after he gave up more than two runs only once over his last eight regular/postseason starts in 2024. He will look for his first win in 2025 when he tentatively goes against Baltimore next week.

Analysis: Lugo improved after giving up three runs in each of his first three spring start as his five strikeouts showed he's nearly in regular season form. However, spring stats hardly matter for the veteran who is locked in as the No. 2 starter for the Royals. Lugo won 16 games with a 3.00 ERA over a league-high 33 starts last season. A 21.7 percent strikeout rate left something to be desired, but Lugo provided so much volume with a surprising 206.2 innings that he accumulated 181 strikeouts.