The Indians take on the Royals in Kansas City after two straight Rainouts vs the Mariners in Cleveland. The Royals just got swept by the Tigers in a rain shortened 2 games series. After the weekend it puts the Tribe at 24-13 and the Royals at 20-19, 5 games behind the Tribe. Thus for the Royals this is a very critical series. If they can win these two games they can get right back in the mix with the Tribe and the Red Hot Tigers. The Indians lead the season series 5-2 already. KC is much better at home than on the road, with the 2nd best record in the league at home at 15-8, only behind the tribe. The Indians are just 9-9 away from home.
These are two of the best hitting teams in the league, the Tribe 2nd in average and the Royals 4th. The Tribe has more power but the Royals lead the league in Stolen Bases. The Indians are much better pitching than the Royals but let’s look at the matchups.
Pitching Matchups
Monday- Tomlin (4-1, 2.70 ERA) v Davies (1-5, 7.08 ERA)- Tomlin has a quality start in each of his 7 starts this season. He is much better at home than road though, the Tribe going 1-2 on the road when he pitches. This includes a loss on the road to the Royals already. The numbers on Davies look horrible but arnt as bad as they seem. Three of his last 5 starts as quality, but his worst start against the Tribe when he game up 8 runs in 3 and 1/3 inning. Davies has yet to be favored in a game he pitches.
Tuesday- Carrasco (1-2, 5.29 ERA) v Mazzaro (0-0, 4.50 ERA)- Mazzaro looks to follow up an impressive albeit short 4 inning debut at the Yankees. Carrasco has been the weak link in the Indians staff, with the Tribe going 2-4 when he pitches. Still the team did when the he faced the Royals at KC on April 18th. I expect a lot of runs in this one.
While both teams would love a sweep this short two game series looks prime for a 1-1 split.
