:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/6465955/142847888.jpg)
The Cleveland Indians will have a present waiting for them when they return home Tuesday: a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals.
The Indians, 8-6 overall, went 7-2 over their recent three-series road trip, which wrapped up Sunday. After going just 1-3 through their first four home games, Cleveland swept Kansas City 3-0, and then went 2-1 against both the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics.
The Tribe is third in the AL Central behind the Chicago White Sox and Detroit Tigers, who are both sitting at 10-6.
The Royals, meanwhile, are coming off a 10-game home stand that was historically awful. KC, 3-13, lost each and every game, becoming the first team in 99 years to drop its first 10 at home.
How dubious is KC's start? Well, the last team to drop its first 10 at home was the New York Yankees -- and that was back when they were still called the New York Highlanders.
The Indians will send Derek Lowe to the hill Tuesday. Lowe is 2-1 with a 3.50 ERA after getting tagged for four runs in just 4.1 innings his last time out against the Mariners. The Royals will start off-season acquisition Jonathan Sanchez, formerly of the San Francisco Giants, who is 1-0 but has an inflated 6.39 ERA.
For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation, or check out SB Nation's YouTube channel: