KANSAS CITY — Cleveland heads into the matchup fresh off a dominant performance by Shane Bieber. Bieber threw eight innings, surrendering zero runs on three hits with 11 strikeouts against Baltimore.
The Royals are 14-22 against opponents from the AL Central. Kansas City is hitting a collective batting average of .245 this season, led by Whit Merrifield with an average of .303.
The Indians are 18-15 against division opponents. Cleveland is slugging .405 as a unit. Carlos Santana leads the team with a slugging percentage of .534. This is the first meeting of the season for these two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Merrifield leads the Royals with 108 hits and is batting .303. Hunter Dozier is 9-for-39 with three doubles, two home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
Santana leads the Indians with 18 home runs home runs and is slugging .534. Francisco Lindor is 11-for-43 with five doubles and an RBI over the last 10 games for Cleveland.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 3-7, .249 batting average, 5.77 ERA, outscored by 11 runs
Indians: 6-4, .257 batting average, 5.22 ERA, outscored by 17 runs
Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Adalberto Mondesi: 10-day IL (groin), 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 (undisclosed), Bradley Zimmer: 60-day IL (shoulder), Jake Bauers: day-to-day (left foot).
