Cleveland Indians, Kluber Look for Revenge After Early Losses to Royals

The Cleveland Indians‘ Corey Kluber faced the Kansas City Royals early in the season when he wasn’t at his best. The Royals will face a pitcher that closely resembles last year’s Cy Young winner in the AL when they meet at Kauffman Stadium tonight. Kluber (3-5, 3.52) is in search of his third straight victory, facing Jason Vargas (3-2, 5.16), making just his second start since returning from a left flexor strain.

The Indians (25-26) can get back to .500 for the first time since they were 2-2 on April 10. Kluber dropped four consecutive starts in one of his worst stretches of his career, and the Royals were part of two of them. But since May 13, his 1.41 ERA ranks as the best among qualifiers since that time.

Jason Kipnis will look to start a new record-setting month after his hot May, but failed to get a hit in yesterday’s contest. He did, however, score the game-winning run on Michael Brantley‘s eighth-inning single in the Tribe’s 2-1 win.

The Royals (29-20) have been scuffling a bit, as their once untouchable bullpen has looked vulnerable in recent weeks. After posting a 1.58 ERA through their first 41 innings, they’ve been hit up to the tune of a 3.60 in the last 25 innings.

Mike Moustakas has posed the biggest threat to Kluber in his career, going 13-for-27 with a home run and five doubles. He is 5-for-6 in this season’s matchups.

First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 pm ET at Kauffman Stadium. SportsTime Ohio will have the television coverage, while the radio broadcast will be carried on WMMS 100.7 and WtAM 1100.

Here are the lineups for tonight’s game:

Next: Inidans-Royals Series Preview