Royals at Indians
Shortstop Francisco Lindor hopes to continue his power surge when the Cleveland Indians host the Kansas City Royals on Sunday afternoon for the rubber match of the three-game series between American League Central rivals. Lindor went deep twice in Saturday’s 6-2 victory and has eight homers along with 14 RBIs during his 13-game hitting streak, in which he is batting .458.
The Indians won for just the second time in seven games Saturday and are 4-7 in May, but their offense is back in gear after a slow start to the season and they have averaged seven runs over their last 12 contests. Two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber looks to rebound from his second loss of the season when he takes the ball in the series finale while Kansas City left-hander Danny Duffy goes after his second straight victory. The Royals could not build on their wild comeback victory Friday, going 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position Saturday, but Whit Merrifield and Jorge Soler remained red hot. Soler is 12-for-25 during a six-game hitting streak and boasts 12 RBIs in 11 contests during May while Merrifield is 10-for-22 during his six-game run.
TV: 1:10 p.m. ET, FS Kansas City, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals LH Danny Duffy (1-4, 5.15 ERA) vs. Indians RH Corey Kluber (5-2, 2.62)
Duffy allowed one run on six hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings at Baltimore on Tuesday to earn his first victory of the season. It was the third time in eight starts he gave up one or fewer earned runs and the 29-year-old California native limited Cleveland to three tallies on three hits across 5 2/3 frames in a loss to Cleveland on April 6. Brandon Guyer is 6-for-11 with a homer versus Duffy, who is 2-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 16 career appearances (12 starts) against the Indians.
Kluber suffered his first loss since Opening Day last time out, yielding three runs on five hits over six innings while matching a season low with four strikeouts. The 32-year-old Alabama native has permitted three runs in each of the last four starts after giving up five combined over his first four outings of the campaign. Mike Moustakas is 18-for-39 with a homer and two doubles against Kluber, who is 9-6 with a 2.98 ERA (2-0, 0.73 last year) in 20 career starts versus Kansas City.
WALK-OFFS
1. Kansas City C Salvador Perez saw his five-game hitting streak end Saturday, but he owns 10 RBIs over the last six outings.
2. Cleveland CF Tyler Naquin (hamstring), who is riding a seven-game hitting streak, was placed on the 10-day disabled list and LHP Tyler Olson activated from the paternity list.
3. The Royals are 10-12 against divisional opponents - including 6-2 in the last eight - and 3-14 against everyone else in the league.