Enjoy your Cinco de Mayo with an American League Central showdown between the Cleveland Indians (15-13) and the Kansas City Royals (16-12). The Royals will host this one from Kauffman Stadium, with the first pitch scheduled for 8:10 pm ET.

This will be the third game of a four-game set between the two teams. The Indians have won the first two games, including a 7-3 win on Tuesday.

In the win, Jake Bauers hit his first home run of the season while Nick Wittgren picked up his first win in relief. 

In the loss, Salvador Perez hit his seventh home run of the season. Also, second baseman Whit Merrifield went one for two with three walks and two stolen bases.

The Indians are the favorites despite playing on the road. They are -168 to win while the Royals’ moneyline sits at +142. The runline features Kansas City +1.5, and the over/under for total runs is seven.

Pitching Matchup

The Indians will turn to their ace, Shane Bieber (3-2, 2.76 ERA), on Wednesday. In his last outing, he gave up three runs in six innings, but he also struck out eleven.

The Royals will counter with righty Brady Singer (1-3, 3.09 ERA). In his last outing, a 9-1 loss to the Twins, Singer went just two innings, giving up a single run. He was forced to leave after just 48 pitches when he was struck by a line drive on the mound.

By The Number

The Royals currently have the better team in terms of scoring thus far. They rank 11th in the majors averaging 4.67 runs per game. The Indians rank 17th, averaging 4.11 runs.

Defensively, it is Cleveland that holds the advantage. They rank 10th in the majors allowing opponents just 4.04 runs per game. The Royals fall to 23rd, allowing 4.85 runs per game.

Indians Fighting For First Place

The Indians have been on quite a roll lately, going 7-3 over their last ten games. Despite getting off to a dreadful start to the season, their surge has them within a game of the division lead.

Leading the way for the team offensively has been Jose Ramirez. He is currently hitting .277/.370/.574 with eight home runs and 17 runs batted in. His performance currently has him tied for the fifth-best odds to win the A.L. MVP at +2000.

Against Brady Singer, Eddie Rosario has had some success. In eight at-bats, the outfielder has two hits, including a home run and three runs batted in. On the season thus far, Rosario is hitting .230/.278/.370 with three home runs and 17 runs batted in.

Royals Look To Stop The Bleeding

Having lost three games in a row to division rivals, the Royals have slipped into a tie in the division with the Chicago White Sox for first place. Furthermore, the Indians are knocking on the door just a game behind. On Wednesday, the Royals will look to stop the bleeding and improve on their home record, which is currently 8-7.

Salvador Perez and Whit Merrifield continue to lead the offensive attack for the Royals. Perez leads the team with seven home runs while also hitting .268/.305/.518.

For Merrifield, he is hitting .273/.333/.436 with four home runs and is tied for the team lead with 21 runs batted in. He also has 10 stolen bases in the early going this season.

Indians Send Ace To Try To Pick Up Third Straight Against Royals

Any time that Shane Bieber takes the mound, it will be an exciting game to watch. In his last outing, he became the first pitcher to go 18 starts in a row with at least eight strikeouts. He will try for number 19 against the Royals Wednesday.

Even though his record of 1-3 may not show it, the Royals’ Brady Singer has pitched well this season. Kansas City hopes he can pull out a victory for a team that has gone just 5-5 over the last ten games.

One thing is for sure, this should be a fun ball game to watch between two division rivals that separated by just a single game in the standings.