Cleveland @ Kansas City preview

Last Meeting ( May 7, 2015 ) Cleveland 4, Kansas City 7

The Cleveland Indians look to stay hot on the road and continue their climb in the American League Central when they visit Kansas City on Tuesday for the first of three games. Sunday's 12-inning win in Seattle gave the Indians three victories in four games versus the Mariners and six wins in their last seven road games overall.

That is all part of a 10-3 surge for Terry Francona's bunch, which has pulled within 6 1/2 games of the division lead after plummeting 9 1/2 back in the middle of May. Jason Kipnis' phenomenal stretch has been the primary catalyst, as the surging second baseman set a franchise record for hits in May with 51 while batting .429 and scoring 30 runs. The Royals have managed to keep Kipnis in check so far this season, limiting him to six hits in 24 at-bats while going 4-2 against the Indians. Kansas City, which is 17-7 at home, split a pair in a rain-shortened interleague series in Wrigley Field against the Chicago Cubs over the weekend.

TV: 8:10 p.m. ET, SportsTime Ohio (Cleveland), FSN Kansas City

PITCHING MATCHUP: Indians RH Carlos Carrasco (6-4, 4.24 ERA) vs. Royals RH Jeremy Guthrie (4-3, 6.70)

Carrasco has yielded three runs in 14 innings over his last two starts, including an eight-inning gem in a win over Texas on Wednesday. He has 31 strikeouts against five walks over his last four starts and pulled into Monday's action ranked fourth among AL starters with 10.4 strikeouts per nine innings. The Venezuela native limited the Royals to three runs in seven innings to pick up a win on May 6, but he is 3-4 with a 4.70 ERA in his career versus Kansas City.

Guthrie's scheduled start at Wrigley Field on Saturday was rained out, giving him two more days to stew over a historically bad outing at Yankee Stadium his last time out, when he gave up a career-high 11 runs in an inning-plus. The veteran had won three straight starts while posting a 1.96 ERA prior to the implosion. He gave up four runs in five uneven innings at Cleveland on April 28 and owns a 6.14 ERA lifetime against the Indians.

WALK-OFFS

1. The first five hitters in Cleveland's lineup Sunday (Kipnis, Carlos Santana, Michael Brantley, Ryan Raburn and Brandon Moss) are a combined 44-for-108 with seven homers against Guthrie.

2. The Indians are 4-12 in series openers, although three of those victories have come on the road.

3. Royals C Salvador Perez is 1-for-17 with nine strikeouts over his last five games.

PREDICTION: Royals 5, Indians 4