Royals, streaking Starling set for matchup against Indians
Cleveland Indians (61-42, second in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (39-66, fourth in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Kansas; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Indians: Mike Clevinger (4-2, 3.61 ERA) Royals: Glenn Sparkman (3-6, 4.67 ERA)
LINE: Indians favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Kansas City's Starling puts 10-game hit streak on the line against Indians.
The Royals are 21-30 against opponents from the AL Central. The Kansas City offense has compiled a .248 batting average as a team this season, Whit Merrifield leads the team with a mark of .302.
The Indians are 30-18 against AL Central Division opponents. The Cleveland pitching staff has a combined team ERA of 3.80, Trevor Bauer leads the staff with a mark of 3.60. The Indians won the last meeting 8-3. Zach Plesac earned his fifth victory and Jose Ramirez went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs for Cleveland. Jakob Junis registered his ninth loss for Kansas City.
TOP PERFORMERS: Merrifield leads the Royals with 49 extra base hits and is slugging .488. Hunter Dozier is 12-for-38 with a double, a triple, three home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
Carlos Santana leads the Indians with 21 home runs home runs and is slugging .518. Ramirez is 16-for-42 with five doubles, four home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for Cleveland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 6-4, .262 batting average, 3.58 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs
Indians: 8-2, .285 batting average, 2.45 ERA, outscored opponents by 26 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), Carlos Santana: day-to-day (shoulder).
