Indians at Royals
The Cleveland Indians have won 10 of their last 15 contests to ascend to a share of the lead in the American League Central, while the Kansas City Royals have plummeted into the division's cellar following losses in 11 of their last 13. The Indians look to add to those totals on Friday when they open a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.
Mother Nature may have handed an unexpected present to Cleveland, as inclement weather in Detroit forced the postponement of the series finale and allowed manager Terry Francona to push each member of his starting rotation back a day with ace Corey Kluber (back) on the 10-day disabled list. Injuries plagued Kansas City's bid to return to the Fall Classic for the third straight year in 2016, and the Indians took them to task by winning 14 of the 19 regular-season encounters. The Royals have failed to see their offense get out of the blocks in 2017, as the team has mustered a majors-worst 78 runs following Thursday's 8-3 setback to the Chicago White Sox. "It's frustrating (to be losing)," outfielder Alex Gordon said. "But at the same time, we know we're better than this. Our offense has been awful and we're still only (six) games out."
TV: 8:15 p.m. ET, MLB Network, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), FSN Kansas City
PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Danny Salazar (2-2, 4.34 ERA) vs. Royals RH Jason Hammel (0-3, 6.65)
Salazar, who was scheduled to pitch on Thursday, overcame a pair of homers and allowed just one more hit over 6 1/3 innings in a 4-3 victory over Seattle on Saturday. The 27-year-old Dominican struck out a season-low six batters versus the Mariners while his 4.3 walks per nine innings in 2017 is cause for concern. Salazar has dominant against the Royals last season, winning all three of his starts while posting a 1.21 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and striking out 25 over 22 1/3 innings.
Hammel has yet to get untracked with Kansas City after winning 15 games and recording a 3.83 ERA last year with the Chicago Cubs. Signed to a two-year, $16 million deal rotation in the wake of the tragic death of Yordano Ventura, the 34-year-old Hammel surrendered a season-high five runs and walked three batters for the second straight three-plus-inning outing on Sunday in a 7-5 setback to Minnesota. Hammel owns an 0-3 mark with a 5.30 ERA in nine career appearances (five starts) versus Cleveland.
WALK-OFFS
1. Cleveland C Yan Gomes is batting .393 in his last 11 games after hitting .067 in his previous nine.
2. While their offense clearly has struggled, the Royals' defense hasn't been much better of late as the team has committed eight errors in the last 12 games after recording just one in the previous 15.
3. Indians 2B Jose Ramirez has hit safely in 10 of his last 11 games, with seven RBIs and six runs scored during that stretch.