Indians, streaking Ramirez set for matchup against Royals
Kansas City Royals (36-62, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Cleveland Indians (55-40, second in the AL Central)
Cleveland; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Mike Montgomery (1-2, 5.67 ERA) Indians: Shane Bieber (8-3, 3.49 ERA)
LINE: Indians favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Jose Ramirez is riding a 10-game hitting streak as Cleveland readies to play Kansas City.
The Indians are 26-17 against AL Central teams. The Cleveland pitching staff owns a team ERA of 3.93, Shane Bieber leads the staff with a mark of 3.49.
The Royals have gone 20-26 against division opponents. Kansas City is hitting a collective .251 this season, led by Whit Merrifield with an average of .312.
TOP PERFORMERS: Carlos Santana leads the Indians with 21 home runs and is batting .288. Ramirez has 15 hits and is batting .366 over the last 10 games for Cleveland.
Jorge Soler leads the Royals with 26 home runs and has 69 RBIs. Merrifield has 14 hits and is batting .350 over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
LAST 10 GAMES: Indians: 8-2, .298 batting average, 2.90 ERA, outscored opponents by 32 runs
Royals: 7-3, .301 batting average, 4.10 ERA, outscored opponents by 13 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).
