Game 18 Open Thread: Indians vs. Royals

What a beautiful night for baseball!  At game time (an odd, 6:10 p.m. start) it should be in the low 40s, with a wind chill dipping into the mid to low 30s.  At least the miserable, misty rain is supposed to stop?  Regardless, with the weather and the lousy way they’ve been playing lately, there will probably be about 4,000 people there.

Anyway, about tonight’s game.  Corey Kluber takes the mound for the Indians, after a rare rough outing against the White Sox last week.  For the Royals, Jason Vargas and his 6.75 ERA will take the mound.  Don’t get excited though – he’s a lefty, meaning that he’ll probably throw a four-hit shutout, and look like Cy Young while doing it.  In Vargas’s last start, he gave up 5 ER in 5.2 innings pitched to the Minnesota Twins, who aren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut.  Bitter sarcasm aside, the Indians did have some success against Vargas last year – they hit .280/.350/.398 against him, and Vargas had a 4.94 ERA against the Tribe.  And to be fair, the Indians actually had a decent day at the plate yesterday, once the game was already out of hand and they were losing 7-2.  Maybe it’s something to build on heading into today’s game.  They need to keep the pressure on Vargas early, and score as much as possible.  Because once they get to the back three of their bullpen, they’re likely to shut down any additional offensive opportunities.

And it’s always fun to play a spirited game of “how will Mike Moustakas destroy us” when the Royals come to town.  Oddly, the Indians held him to a .197 average last year – a total of 13 hits.  But 6 of those 13 hits left the park, and another three were doubles.

Tonight’s lineups: