KANSAS CITY -- Every fifth day, when Ben Lively gets the ball, the Guardians know that they’re going to have a chance to win.

This consistency and reliability has become crucial for a team that hasn’t been able to lean on its rotation as much as it has in recent memory. Most of the time this season, Cleveland has taken advantage of that dependability, considering it had won eight of his 12 starts entering Thursday night. But in the series opener against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium, the Guardians’ offense was silenced, as they fell, 2-1.

“We should’ve scored more runs for [Lively] tonight,” Guardians manager Stephen Vogt said. “We wish we could’ve, but these nights happen. Our guys had good at-bats at times, and just didn’t get the big hit.”

Of Lively’s 13 starts this season, he’s allowed three runs or fewer in 12 of them. The one time he allowed four runs was when he was coming off of extended rest after being evaluated for general tightness. Outside of that, he’s been as trustworthy as the Guardians could’ve asked for coming into the year.

But this doesn’t satisfy the 32-year-old righty. He said the key to his consistency is the fact that he did give up runs in his last outing (or the time before) and he wants to be better than that.

“Just keep trying to push myself, you know?” Lively said. “Just keep getting better and better.”

His fastball averages around 90 mph. He’s not racking up insane numbers of strikeouts. He doesn’t miss many bats, and he rarely gets guys to chase out of the zone. So, he attacks hitters in the zone. His extension (which ranks in Baseball Savant’s 89th percentile) helps his heater play up more than a mere 90 mph fastball. His curveball held hitters to a .182 average coming into this series. Plus, he can mix six pitches to keep hitters off balanced.

It’s proven to be the perfect recipe to keep opponents at bay while the Guardians’ offense does its thing.

The problem was, the offense couldn’t gain any momentum against the Royals. Outside of a sacrifice fly from Daniel Schneemann, Cleveland couldn’t push any other runs across the plate. They weren’t lacking opportunities, either. Twice the team left the bases loaded. In both of these cases, the red-hot Steven Kwan made the last out.

In the second, two walks and a hit by pitch put three on for Kwan with two outs. He grounded out to shortstop. In the sixth, a double, single and a walk once again loaded the bases for Kwan with two outs. This time, he struck out.

It’s hard to nitpick Kwan’s night after he floated around a .400 batting average well into June. That average has fallen to .373 after a handful of hitless plate appearances over the last few days. But the Guardians know even their best players are going to hit patches like this, which is why it’s critical to have a starter like Lively, who can keep his team within striking distance.

Aside from back-to-back triples (the first of which hit off of right fielder Schneemann’s glove after he turned the wrong direction en route to the ball) and a sacrifice fly, Lively’s outing was nearly spotless once again. He allowed two runs on six hits with a walk and five strikeouts in six innings.

“Ben was outstanding,” Vogt said. “Again, just attacking the zone, efficient with his pitches.”

The Guardians need more consistency like Lively has provided. The team needs starters who can eat up innings and aside from Lively and Tanner Bibee, no one else has been able to do that start after start.

That’s why the team is hoping to add a veteran like Matthew Boyd, who sources told MLB.com agreed to terms with the Guardians on Thursday afternoon, into the mix to try to be another innings eater once he’s ready to get into Major League games. It’s also why starting pitching is No. 1 on their priority list heading into the Trade Deadline.

Until then, Cleveland will need Lively to continue to do what he’s done for this team over the last two months. And since he gave up two runs on Thursday, he’ll be itching to do even better next time out.

“Ben has been consistent for us all year,” Vogt said. “We know what we’re gonna get from him. He’s gonna go out and attack and go deep into games. You just can’t say enough about the job he’s done.”