Kansas City takes on Cleveland in division matchup
Cleveland Indians (60-42, second in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (39-65, fourth in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Kansas; Friday, 8:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Indians: Zach Plesac (4-3, 3.50 ERA) Royals: Jakob Junis (6-8, 4.83 ERA)
BOTTOM LINE: Kansas City will host Cleveland in a matchup of division rivals.
The Royals are 21-29 against opponents from the AL Central. Kansas City has a collective on-base percentage of .310, led by Hunter Dozier with a mark of .370.
The Indians are 29-18 in division play. The Cleveland pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 3.82. Shane Bieber leads the team with a 3.44 earned run average. The Indians won the last meeting 5-4. Nick Goody notched his second victory and Jose Ramirez went 3-for-6 with two doubles, a home run and an RBI for Cleveland. Brian Flynn registered his second loss for Kansas City.
TOP PERFORMERS: Whit Merrifield leads the Royals with 133 hits and is batting .304. Dozier is 13-for-38 with two doubles, a triple, three home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
Carlos Santana leads the Indians with 43 extra base hits and is batting .282. Ramirez is 15-for-42 with six doubles, three home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Cleveland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 7-3, .266 batting average, 3.10 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs
Indians: 8-2, .276 batting average, 2.26 ERA, outscored opponents by 29 runs
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).
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), Tyler Naquin: day-to-day (hamstring).
