The Kansas City Royals will look to win their third straight series on Sunday when they take on the Cleveland Indians at Progressive Field.
Danny Duffy will start the game for the Royals. The southpaw has a shiny 2.66 ERA in 11 starts this year, but his 4.01 FIP and 4.79 xFIP as a starter suggest some regression in the future. His 17.1 K% is below average and coupled with a 10.1% BB%. I want to believe in Danny Duffy, the starter, but his peripherals still scare me.
Corey Kluber will take the mound for the Cleveland Indians. Kluber has looked extremely impressive, posting a 2.99 ERA with a 2.65 FIP. He owns the 6th best K/BB% in the AL, along with with the 5th most WAR.
Alex Gordon and Billy Butler are not in Sunday's lineup. The Royals batting order, presented by Andy McCullough of the Kansas City Star, is not for the faint of heart:
Distress Signal Lineup: Cain 9, Hosmer 3, Perez 2, Ibanez 7, Valencia DH, Moustakas 5, Escobar 6, Dyson 8, Colon 4, Duffy 1.
— Andy McCullough (@McCulloughStar) July 6, 2014
Woof.
Mike Aviles is playing left field for Cleveland today, so anything hit in the air to the left side of the field (for either team) may be an adventure. Nick Camino of WTAM 1100 brings us the Indians starting nine:
#Indians lineup today: Kipnis 2B, Cabrera SS, Brantley CF, Santana 1B, Raburn R,F Swisher DH, Gomes C, Chisenhall 3B and Aviles LF
— Nick Camino (@NickCaminoWTAM) July 6, 2014
I don't have any Legos at my house, so my recap will pale in comparison to Saturday's. We will try to get through this together.