Cleveland hosts Kansas City after Plutko's solid outing
Kansas City Royals (37-63, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Cleveland Indians (56-41, second in the AL Central)
Cleveland; Sunday, 1 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Glenn Sparkman (3-5, 4.54 ERA) Indians: Zach Plesac (3-3, 3.56 ERA)
LINE: Indians favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 11 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland heads into the matchup fresh off a strong showing by Adam Plutko. Plutko threw seven innings, giving up one run on two hits with four strikeouts against Kansas City.
The Indians are 27-18 against the rest of their division. The Cleveland pitching staff owns a team ERA of 3.91, Shane Bieber paces the staff with a mark of 3.69.
The Royals are 21-27 in division games. Kansas City is hitting a collective .250 this season, led by Whit Merrifield with an average of .313. The Royals won the last meeting 1-0. Jakob Junis earned his sixth victory and Hunter Dozier went 1-for-4 with a home run and an RBI for Kansas City. Adam Plutko took his second loss for Cleveland.
TOP PERFORMERS: Carlos Santana leads the Indians with 41 extra base hits and is batting .284. Jose Ramirez is 13-for-41 with four doubles, two home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for Cleveland.
Merrifield leads the Royals with 49 extra base hits and is slugging .508. Dozier is 13-for-39 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
LAST 10 GAMES: Indians: 7-3, .292 batting average, 2.90 ERA, outscored opponents by 27 runs
Royals: 7-3, .303 batting average, 4.30 ERA, outscored opponents by 12 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), Carlos Carrasco: 10-day IL (leukemia), Cody Anderson: 60-day IL (elbow), Bradley Zimmer: 60-day IL (shoulder).
Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Adalberto Mondesi: 10-day IL (shoulder), Salvador Perez: 60-day IL (elbow).
