Monday’s 8th inning collapse was a tough loss to handle, but the Tribe still holds a 5.5 game lead in the Central and holds a considerable advantage in Game 2 against the Royals.
The pitching matchup is as lopsided as we’ll will get this season, with Danny Salazar taking the mound for the Tribe against Royals reliever Brian Flynn.
Flynn, a lefty, has fared well out of the Royals pen in limited opportunities this season but this will be his first major league start since 2014 as a member of the Marlins.
With a lefty on the mound Tyler Naquin and Lonnie Chisenhall get bumped from the lineup, which gives Erik Gonzalez an opportunity to make his first career start.
Gonzalez hit .286 against lefties at Columbus this season. If he keeps up that performance he may be able to earn a platoon position down the stretch this season.
| Indians | Royals | ||
|
CF
|
Rajai Davis |
SS
|
Alcides Escobar |
|
2B
|
Jason Kipnis |
3B
|
Chester Cuthbert |
|
SS
|
Francisco Lindor |
1B
|
Eric Hosmer |
|
1B
|
Mike Napoli |
DH
|
Kendrys Morales |
|
DH
|
Carlos Santana |
C
|
Salvador Perez |
|
LF
|
Jose Ramirez |
LF
|
Alex Gordon |
|
3B
|
Juan Uribe |
RF
|
Paulo Orlando |
|
C
|
Chris Gimenez |
2B
|
Whit Merrifield |
|
RF
|
Erik Gonzalez |
CF
|
Jarrod Dyson |
|
SP
|
Danny Salazar |
SP
|
Bryan Flynn |