Preview: Indians Turn to Bauer As They Look for the Sweep Against the Royals

A grand slam by Yan Gomes and some solid pitching by the Indians put them back 10 games over .500 on Tuesday night with a 6-4 win over the Royals in Kansas

A grand slam by Yan Gomes and some solid pitching by the Indians put them back 10 games over .500 on Tuesday night with a 6-4 win over the Royals in Kansas City.

Tonight as the country celebrates Independence Day with fireworks and what's left of cookouts, the Tribe will go for the three-game sweep as they continue to broaden their lead over the rest of the teams in the AL Central.

The Indians will send Trevor Bauer to the mound as he looks for his 8th win of the season, and he will go up against Ian Kennedy, who has had an awful 2018 with one win - which oddly enough came against the Indians back on April 7th in Cleveland.

Here's a look at tonight's game with a quick preview.

Time: 8:15 p.m.

Starting Pitchers: RHP Trevor Bauer (7-6, 2.45) vs. RHP Ian Kennedy (1-8, 5.11)

TV: SportsTime Ohio

Online: MLB.TV

Radio: WTAM 1100am, Indians Radio Network

1. Can the Indians Get Some Revenge on Kennedy?

It was April 7th at Progressive Field when Ian Kennedy notched his only win of the season, pitching a solid six innings in a KC 1-0 win.

Who was the hard luck Indians loser that day - Trevor Bauer.

For Kennedy, he's been pretty awful this year, going 1-8, while the team is just 3-14 in games he's thrown in overall.

In his last start, Kennedy went five innings and allowed three earned runs on three hits with one walk and four K's against the Mariners in an 8-1 loss.

2. A Better Bauer?

Trevor Bauer has been spot on for the most part in 2018, but he's been so-so against the Royals, going 0-1 overall with a no-decision in two starts.

The first start was the tough luck 1-0 loss on April 7th to Ian Kennedy at Progressive Field, that day he threw as well as one could expect, eight innings allowing one run on three hits with seven strikeouts.

The next start against the Royals was not so good, as he five runs (four earned) on 11 hits in just 4.2 innings of work, walking two and striking out three.

With a chance to get the sweep, it'll be on Bauer to improve on his last outing against the Royals to get it done.

1. No More Injuries

Two games and two injuries for the Indians outfield thus far in this set with the Royals, the first a calf injury to Lonnie Chisenhall that landed him on the DL, and Tuesday a knee contusion to Brandon Guyer which took place in the 9th inning.

The Indians outfield has had its share of ups and downs in 2018, with a number of players on the shelf due to injuries, but hopefully team won't lose any more of this group in this finale against the Royals.

For now, Guyer is listed as day-to-day as X-Rays came back negative, and the team for the time being has called up Greg Allen for the injured Chisenhall.