Bieber expected to start for the Indians against the Royals
Kansas City Royals (27-52, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Cleveland Indians (43-35, second in the AL Central)
Cleveland; Tuesday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Glenn Sparkman (2-3, 3.62 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 27 strikeouts) Indians: Shane Bieber (6-3, 3.86 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 116 strikeouts)
LINE: Indians favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE:
The Indians are 17-14 against teams from the AL Central. The Cleveland pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 3.88. Trevor Bauer leads the team with a 3.85 ERA.
The Royals are 11-27 on the road. Kansas City has slugged .402 this season. Hunter Dozier leads the team with a .580 slugging percentage, including 28 extra-base hits and 12 home runs. The Indians won the last meeting 3-2. Brad Hand secured his fourth victory and Jason Kipnis went 3-for-5 with a home run and an RBI for Cleveland. Wily Peralta took his fourth loss for Kansas City.
TOP PERFORMERS: Carlos Santana leads the Indians with 17 home runs and is batting .291. Kipnis is 16-for-39 with a double, a triple, four home runs and 14 RBIs over the last 10 games for Cleveland.
Jorge Soler leads the Royals with 21 home runs and is batting .239. Whit Merrifield is 16-for-44 with two doubles, four home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
LAST 10 GAMES: Indians: 8-2, .289 batting average, 3.03 ERA, outscored opponents by 25 runs
Royals: 5-5, .250 batting average, 3.94 ERA, outscored opponents by 10 runs
Indians Injuries: Danny Salazar: 60-day IL (shoulder), Jefry Rodriguez: 10-day IL (shoulder), Dan Otero: 10-day IL (shoulder), Corey Kluber: 60-day IL (arm), Mike Clevinger: 10-day IL (ankle), Carlos Carrasco: 10-day IL (undisclosed), Bradley Zimmer: 60-day IL (shoulder), Jake Bauers: day-to-day (left ankle sprain).
Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Adalberto Mondesi: 10-day IL (groin), Salvador Perez: 60-day IL (elbow).
