The Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians are playing a three game series this week and after Game 1 on Monday, the teams play Game 2 and 3 on Tuesday and Wednesday for the AL Central division battle and the matchup from Progressive Field starts at 6:10 pm ET and has Jeremy Guthrie and Trevor Bauer in the pitching matchup.
The Indians have a home stand right now and they have lost three games in a row after falling against the Royals in the first game. The team had three errors in that matchup and the Indians had just four hits in the game and the team now has to find a way to bounce back against a tough Royals team. Bauer had the boxing gloves out on Monday, but they were not needed after some dustups the Royals had earlier in the season.
The Indians come in after losing to the Royals in the first game and that saw Cy Young winner Corey Kluber go down. The Indians have not played well in Kluber's starts and he is now 0-3, which could be some karma from the baseball gods after he stole the Cy Young over Felix Hernandez, but that's neither here nor there. The Indians are 6-12 this season and they are scuffling a bit after coming into the season as a possible surprise team in the AL.
The Royals come into the game at 13-6 and they are second in the division this season. The team got some strong play from Mike Moustakas, who had four hits in five at bats against the reigning Cy Young winner. The Tigers are in first place in the division and the Royals are trying to get back to the playoffs after making it as the wild card team last season. The Royals went to the World Series and they feel they can get back and challenge the Tigers for the division.
The Indians started the season with a long stretch on the road and now they have some major home games on this stretch, but they have lost five of the last six at home. Bauer has pitched well overall and he comes in with a 2-0 record with an 0.95 ERA this season. The Indians are hoping to bounce back for this matchup as the two games end the series this week.
Check here for the Kansas City Royals and Cleveland Indians live coverage.
