Royals at Indians
Francisco Lindor looks to extend his hitting streak to 12 games when the Cleveland Indians host the Kansas City Royals on Friday night to open a three-game series between the American League Central rivals. The two-time All-Star shortstop is 22-for-52 while hitting safely in 11 straight outings after going deep for the sixth time over eight contests Wednesday in Cleveland’s 6-2 victory at Milwaukee - ending a four-game slide.
Lindor has registered eight multi-hit games in his last 10 outings and is batting .318 in his career against the Royals with 13 homers and 44 RBIs - his best marks against any opponent in each of the last two categories. Trevor Bauer will try to help the Indians (18-18) win back-to-back games for the first time since taking three in a row April 21-23 at Baltimore when he takes the mound against fellow right-hander Jason Hammel. Kansas City (12-25) followed up a 15-7 win in the series opener at Baltimore on Tuesday, in which it scored 10 runs in the first inning, with two straight losses to the Orioles (10-27). Salvador Perez launched a grand slam to extend his hitting streak to four games and Jorge Soler has also hit safely in four straight after knocking in a pair of runs for the Royals in the 11-6 loss Thursday night.
TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FS Kansas City, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Jason Hammel (0-4, 4.78 ERA) vs. Indians RH Trevor Bauer (2-3, 2.53)
Hammel has allowed three or fewer earned runs in five of his seven outings but has yet to find a way to get into the win column. The 35-year-old South Carolina native gave up three runs on 10 hits and one walk across 6 2/3 innings Saturday to suffer a 3-2 setback against Detroit. Edwin Encarnacion boasts five homers and Bradley Zimmer is 4-for-9 with a home run versus Hammel, who is 3-5 with a 4.68 ERA in 15 appearances (11 starts) against the Indians.
Bauer yielded four runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks over six innings against the New York Yankees to suffer his third loss of the season last Saturday. The 27-year-old UCLA product has permitted two or fewer earned runs in six of his seven starts, including eight innings of one-run ball in a 1-0 loss to the Royals on April 7. Alcides Escobar is 9-for-28 with a homer against Bauer, who is 2-4 with a 3.08 ERA in 11 career starts versus Kansas City.
WALK-OFFS
1. Kansas City 2B Whit Merrifield had a pair of hits Thursday and is 7-for-14 while hitting in four straight games.
2. Cleveland CF Tyler Naquin is 8-for-19 during a six-game hitting streak and knocked in four runs in the past two.
3. The Indians won two of three against the Royals from April 6-8 in a series where only 10 runs total were scored.