Indians at Royals
The Cleveland Indians look to build off an inspiring comeback when they visit the Kansas City Royals on Tuesday to begin a three-game series between American League Central rivals. The Indians battled from five runs down to beat the Toronto Blue Jays 10-7 on Sunday for their third victory in five games - after a 6-13 start - and have scored 31 times in that span.
Michael Brantley is 8-for-16 with six RBIs over the last four games and Jason Kipnis 8-for-12 with six runs scored in the past three to lead the Indians, who lost two of three to the Royals from April 27-29. Kansas City has cooled off after a 7-0 start, splitting the last 18 contests, and are coming off two straight losses to Detroit at home. Lorenzo Cain, who is batting a team-best .333 for the Royals, will serve the second of his two-game suspension Tuesday. The good news is that Kansas City is expected to activate closer Greg Holland (strained pectoral muscle) from the disabled list for the opener of the series.
TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), FSN Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Danny Salazar (3-0, 3.32 ERA) vs. Royals LH Jason Vargas (2-1, 5.95)
Salazar is unbeaten in three starts since being recalled and allowed four runs over six innings with seven strikeouts and no walks versus Kansas City in his last outing Wednesday. The Dominican Republic native permitted three runs in 13 innings during his first two outings and has struck out 28 in 19 frames overall. Eric Hosmer is 6-for-12 with a homer against Salazar, who is 3-3 with a 5.45 ERA in six career starts versus the Royals.
Vargas beat Cleveland last time out while giving up two runs and three hits with five strikeouts in five innings after two straight rough outings. The 32-year-old California native has held opponents to a .152 batting average (5-for-33) during the first time through the order and .420 for the rest of the game (21-for-50). Kipnis is 5-for-15 with four RBIs against Vargas, who is 4-3 with a 5.05 ERA in 10 career starts versus the Indians.
WALK OFFS
1. Cleveland OF Brandon Moss boasts 16 RBIs in his last 10 contests after producing only two in his first 12 of the campaign.
2. Kansas City INF Christian Colon is 9-for-26 during an eight-game hitting streak after going 2-for-13 in his first five contests of the season.
3. The Indians lost the first five games before winning the last four meetings at Kansas City in 2014.