CLEVELAND INDIANS (35-27)

at KANSAS CITY ROYALS (32-30)

First pitch: Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET
Line: Cleveland -135, Kansas City +125, Total: 8.0

Carlos Carrasco and the red-hot Indians start a three-game-series in Kansas City against Edinson Volquez and the Royals.

Cleveland is on fire as of late, winning nine of its past 12 and that has given them a three-game lead over its opponent tonight in the AL Central. The Indians are coming off a series where they won two of three against the Angels, which included an 8-3 win on Sunday where DH Carlos Santana (.231, 12 HR, 32 RBI) hit two home runs. The Royals, on the other hand, just won their second straight game on Sunday, but went on an eight-game losing streak before that. Kansas City will be glad to be home to try and extend their current streak since they have been a good home team this season going 19-7. The two teams have already played seven games against each other this season. Cleveland has been dominating the series 6-1, but had the luxury of being at home in all of the games. Tonight Cleveland will be throwing RHP Carlos Carrasco (2-1, 3.48 ERA, 28 K) to the mound while Kansas City will have RHP Edinson Volquez (5-6, 4.25 ERA, 64 K) on the hill. Cleveland will be happy to see Volquez on the mound as they have had success against him, going 6-3 against the Royals when he has started.

Cleveland has earned an MLB-high nine wins in the month of June because of a combination of good hitting and pitching. Over the month the Indians have scored 4.67 runs per game and have pithed the third best ERA over the stretch with a 2.77 ERA. The hitting has been led by rookie OF Tyler Naquin (.326, 4 HR, 10 RBI), who has been on a tear over the last 12 games. He’s hitting .346 with four homers and eight RBIs over that stretch. The Indians’ starter, Carlos Carrasco has struggled since coming off the DL which sidelined him for the entire month of May. Over his last last two starts, since the injury, he has gone 0-1 and allowed a combined nine runs. One of those starts was when he faced Kansas City and allowed three runs in five innings in a game where his team won, but he earned a no decision. Carrasco will feel comfortable with his opponent tonight to try and get his first win since May 19th because he has gone 6-3 in his career against the Royals. Cleveland’s seven players hitting over .250 in June will look to back Carrasco with the bats tonight.

Kansas City will need Volquez to change his recent ways and find a way to lead the Royals to a victory. Volquez has struggled of late, going 0-2 with a 7.36 ERA in his last two starts. He has also struggled in his two starts against Cleveland this season, earning two losses where he gave up five runs in each game. Even though Volquez has had struggles as of late, he is still leading the team with five wins. Cleveland has not, however, been kind to Volquez over his career, as he is 2-6 with an 8.12 ERA against the Indians. The Royals will be looking towards their star hitters OF Lorenzo Cain (.290, 8 HR, 34 RBI) and 1B Eric Hosmer (.318, 12 HR, 38 RBI) to get the offense going because they have had success against Carrasco in their careers. Look for OF Whit Merrifield (.322, 0 HR, 5 RBI) to continue his hot hitting after going 3-for-5 at the plate in the Royals’ last game. The Royals will have to score more than their 2.36 runs-per-game average they have been putting up in the month of June in order to pull out a victory tonight.