Cleveland Indians (16-13, second in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (16-13, third in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Kansas; Thursday, 2:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Indians: Triston McKenzie (0-1, 6.27 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 29 strikeouts) Royals: Danny Duffy (4-1, .60 ERA, .97 WHIP, 34 strikeouts)
LINE: Royals -131, Indians +114; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Kansas City enters the matchup as losers of their last four games.
The Royals are 7-7 against the rest of their division. The Kansas City offense has compiled a .242 batting average as a team this season, good for eighth in the MLB. Andrew Benintendi leads the team with an average of .287.
The Indians are 14-8 against division opponents. Cleveland has hit 39 home runs this season, ninth in the American League. Jose Ramirez leads them with nine, averaging one every 11.6 at-bats.
The Indians won the last meeting 5-4. Nick Wittgren earned his second victory and Josh Naylor went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs for Cleveland. Wade Davis registered his first loss for Kansas City.
TOP PERFORMERS: Carlos Santana leads the Royals with 21 RBIs and is batting .255.
Franmil Reyes leads the Indians with 15 extra base hits and 21 RBIs.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 4-6, .251 batting average, 5.07 ERA, outscored by nine runs
Indians: 8-2, .223 batting average, 4.10 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs
INJURIES: Royals: Kyle Zimmer: (left trap), Daniel Tillo: (undisclosed), Jesse Hahn: (right shoulder), Adalberto Mondesi: (right oblique strain), Cam Gallagher: (concussion).
Indians: Cam Hill: (right wrist), Roberto Perez: (finger).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
