Stretches like this can be a real turning point in the season. The Indians have built themselves a decent lead atop the AL Central, and have some momentum after an over .500 West Coast trip. Now the Indians go to the team that is directly behind them. The good news for the Tribe in this series is that even if they are swept, they will still be tied for the division lead. More good news is that the Indians send 3 of their top 4 starters to the hill against three righties that are nothing special for Kansas City.
Carlos Carrasco (2-1, 3.48) leads the Tribe into Kaufman Stadium tonight against Edinson Volquez (5-6, 4.25). Carrasco should be ready to go deep into the game tonight as he is making his third start since returning from the DL. Juan Uribe had a rough play yesterday that resulted in him getting carted off the field. It appears there are no long- term problems, but he is out of the lineup tonight.
Carlos Santana returns to the lead-off spot after hitting two  home runs yesterday.  Rajai Davis who was the lead-off man for the whole Angels series, moves down to the nine spot. Whit Merrifield continues to lead off for the Royals as he has been quite the pleasant surprise for them. The Royals have suffered a flurry of injuries, so their lineup will have some names that most Tribe fans are not too familiar with. Here are the rest of the lineups:

1 Comment