Zerpa expected to start as Royals host the Indians
Cleveland Indians (77-81, second in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (73-85, fourth in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Missouri; Thursday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Indians: Shane Bieber (7-4, 3.17 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 133 strikeouts) Royals: Angel Zerpa (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
BOTTOM LINE: Jose Ramirez and the Indians will take on the Royals Thursday.
The Royals are 38-39 on their home turf. Kansas City hitters have posted a team on-base percentage of .304 this season, led by Nicky Lopez with a mark of .364.
The Indians have gone 37-40 away from home. Cleveland has a team on-base percentage of .301, led by Myles Straw with a mark of .348.
The Royals won the last meeting 10-5. Greg Holland notched his third victory and Salvador Perez went 1-for-2 with a home run and three RBIs for Kansas City. Nick Wittgren took his ninth loss for Cleveland.
TOP PERFORMERS: Carlos Santana is second on the Royals with 19 home runs and is batting .207.
Jose Ramirez leads the Indians with 72 extra base hits and is slugging .543.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 6-4, .237 batting average, 4.01 ERA, outscored by one run
Indians: 4-6, .253 batting average, 4.28 ERA, outscored by two runs
INJURIES: Royals: Brady Singer: (arm), Mike Minor: (shoulder), Richard Lovelady: (elbow), Brad Keller: (shoulder), Jakob Junis: (shoulder), Jesse Hahn: (shoulder), Wade Davis: (shoulder), Salvador Perez: (ankle).
Indians: Nick Sandlin: (shoulder), Josh Naylor: (ankle), Wilson Ramos: (knee).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.