Kansas City @ Cleveland preview

Last Meeting ( Jul 28, 2015 ) Kansas City 2, Cleveland 1

The rich keep getting richer when it comes to the Kansas City Royals, who continue to add pieces to a roster that already boasts the best record in the American League. The Royals made a deal to bring in super utilityman Ben Zobrist from the Oakland Athletics on Tuesday but don’t expect to have him available when they go for a three-game sweep of the host Cleveland Indians on Wednesday.

Zobrist, who joins Johnny Cueto as new additions to Kansas City in the last few days, is set to join the team on Thursday and take over left field, which has been missing All-Star Alex Gordon (groin) since before the break. "My reaction is I'm excited,” Zobrist told reporters. “Obviously, (the Royals) have played well and they already have a great club, and then they have the addition of Johnny Cueto, there should be a lot more wins coming. I'm super excited about this.” The Indians don’t have much to be excited about and suffered their sixth straight loss – all at home – on Eric Hosmer’s ninth-inning homer Tuesday to fall to 19-32 in their own park. Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber will try to end the slide when he goes up against Kansas City veteran Jeremy Guthrie on Wednesday.

TV: 12:10 p.m. ET, FSN Kansas City, STO (Cleveland)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Jeremy Guthrie (7-6, 5.35 ERA) vs. Indians RH Corey Kluber (5-11, 3.59)

Guthrie is trying to hold onto his spot in the rotation following the acquisition of Cueto and was rocked for four runs on 11 hits over seven innings in a loss to Houston on Friday. The Stanford product held opponents to three earned runs or fewer in eight of his previous nine outings. Guthrie yielded one run and two hits over 5 2/3 innings in a no decision against Cleveland on June 2.

Kluber had a run of five straight quality starts come to an end when he was knocked around for six runs and eight hits in seven innings during a loss to the Chicago White Sox on Friday. The 29-year-old has received a total of six runs of support in his last six losses. Kluber struck out nine over eight innings at Kansas City on June 3 but was charged with four runs in a game the Indians went on to lose 4-2.

WALK-OFFS

1. The Royals sent out minor-league pitching prospects Sean Manaea and Aaron Brooks in the Zobrist deal.

2. Cleveland 2B Jason Kipnis is 6-for-8 in the series after going 1-for-12 in his previous three games.

3. Hosmer is 6-for-9 with two homers, six RBIs and four runs scored in the first two games of the series.

PREDICTION: Royals 5, Indians 4