Kansas City @ Cleveland preview
Progressive Field
Last Meeting ( Jul 31, 2011 ) Kansas City 5, Cleveland 3
THE STORY: The Cleveland Indians may not be able to overtake the Detroit Tigers for the American League Central title, but they're certainly giving their fans plenty for which to cheer. Fan favorite Jim Thome makes his return Friday after a nine-year absence as he leads the Indians into the opener of a weekend series with the Kansas City Royals. Thome waived his no-trade clause to rejoin the Indians in a trade with the Minnesota Twins.
TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, FSKC, STO
PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Felipe Paulino (2-9, 4.40 ERA) vs. Indians RH Ubaldo Jimenez (7-10, 4.87 ERA).
Paulino's career won-lost record is among the worst in the major leagues, and this season has been no exception. The 27-year-old earned a rare victory last time out, despite allowing four runs on eight hits over six innings against the Boston Red Sox. Paulino threw six scoreless innings in his only previous encounter with the Indians back on July 30.
Jimenez was supposed to help Cleveland gain ground on the Tigers in the AL Central. Four starts into his Indians career, the 27-year-old has looked mostly abysmal. He was torched for eight runs on nine hits in just 3 1/3 innings in his previous start, and has already surrendered four home runs as an Indian after allowing just 10 in 21 starts with Colorado earlier this season.
ABOUT THE ROYALS (54-77): A great series in Toronto has Billy Butler back in familiar territory. The smooth-swinging first baseman went 8-for-15 with a home run and five RBIs in the three-game series against the Blue Jays, bringing his average back to the .300 mark to the season. That's the highest it has been since June 27, the day he began a 4-for-27 slide. Butler has hit above .300 in each of his previous two seasons, and is a career .299 batter. Only four Kansas City players have faced Jimenez in their careers - and they haven't fared well, hitting just .133 against him. Jeff Francoeur has the most experience, going 2-for-16 lifetime. Both of his hits were home runs.
ABOUT THE INDIANS (63-64): Cleveland won't have Thome play every day, but the 40-year-old has shown he can still be a force in limited action. He reached the 600-homer plateau earlier this month, and will be welcomed back by a majority of Indians fans after spending the first 12 seasons of his career with the club. He left in 2002 the club's all-time leader in home runs and walks, second in RBIs and in the top-five in several other categories. In a strange twist, Thome is the only player on the Indians roster to have homered off Paulino, belting a three-run shot - the 596th of his career - in the Twins' 4-3 triumph over the Royals on July 17.
FINAL PITCH: Cleveland leads the season series 8-4 and has won 11 of the past 15 meetings overall.