PREVIEW: Indians welcome Royals for three-game series

CLEVELAND– The Cleveland Indians (77-59) take on the Kansas City Royals (45-91) as they close out their nine-game homestand.

Time: 4:10 p.m.

Starting Pitchers: CLE Adam Plutko (4-4, 4.94 ERA) vs. KC Jakob Junis (7-12 4.53 ERA)

TV:  SportsTime Ohio

Online: MLB.TV

Radio: WTAM 1100 AM, WMMS 100.7 FM, Indians Radio Network

1. Plutko vs. the Royals

Adam Plutko will make his first career appearance against Kansas City on Monday afternoon.

Last time out against the Minnesota Twins he recorded a no-decision, giving up two runs and five hits while striking out five through 5 1/3 innings.

Whit Merrifield is Kansas City’s hottest hitter right now. Over the last 22 games, he’s batting .368 (32-for-87) with 15 runs and 14 RBI.

2. The latest on Junis

Kansas City’s Jakob Junis is coming off the first complete game of his career. On Tuesday against the Tigers, he gave up two runs and struck out seven.

Cleveland’s Francisco Lindor has had a lot of success against the righty during his career. He’s hitting .600 through 10 at-bats with three home runs and nine total RBI.

3. Can Melky keep up the hot streak?

Melky Cabrera continues to be on fire. On Sunday with the Indians trailing the Rays 6-2, he recorded a two-out, RBI double that drove in two runs. While the Indians would go on to lose the game 6-4, this was just the latest example of some clutch hitting by Cabrera.

Since Aug. 12, he is hitting .369 (24-for-65) with five homers and 19 RBI.