Indians look to break 3-game skid against Royals
Kansas City Royals (45-83, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Cleveland Indians (74-54, second in the AL Central)
Cleveland; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Jakob Junis (8-11, 4.78 ERA) Indians: Zach Plesac (6-4, 3.53 ERA)
LINE: Indians -176; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Cleveland enters the game as losers of their last three games.
The Indians are 34-20 against teams from the AL Central. The Cleveland pitching staff owns a team ERA of 3.77, Shane Bieber paces the staff with a mark of 3.26.
The Royals are 24-36 against opponents from the AL Central. Kansas City's lineup has 128 home runs this season, Jorge Soler leads them with 35 homers.
TOP PERFORMERS: Carlos Santana leads the Indians with 55 extra base hits and is slugging .548. Jose Ramirez is 11-for-33 with two doubles, a triple, four home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for Cleveland.
Soler leads the Royals with 88 RBIs and is batting .253. Hunter Dozier is 14-for-39 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs and five RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
LAST 10 GAMES: Indians: 3-7, .256 batting average, 4.67 ERA, outscored opponents by two runs
Royals: 3-7, .211 batting average, 4.59 ERA, outscored by 16 runs
Indians Injuries: Danny Salazar: (groin), Jefry Rodriguez: (shoulder), Dan Otero: (shoulder), Tyler Olson: (undisclosed), Corey Kluber: (arm), A.J. Cole: (shoulder), Carlos Carrasco: (leukemia), Cody Anderson: (elbow), Bradley Zimmer: (shoulder), Jordan Luplow: (hamstring), Christian Arroyo: (forearm).
Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: (hip), Jake Newberry: (shoulder), Jesse Hahn: (elbow), Danny Duffy: (hamstring), Adalberto Mondesi: (shoulder), Salvador Perez: (elbow), Cam Gallagher: (oblique).
