Kansas City Royals (21-41, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Oakland Athletics (22-43, fifth in the AL West)
Oakland, California; Friday, 9:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Daniel Lynch (2-6, 5.50 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 50 strikeouts); Athletics: Frankie Montas (3-6, 3.29 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 80 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: The Oakland Athletics begin a three-game series at home against the Kansas City Royals on Friday.
Oakland is 22-43 overall and 7-24 at home. The Athletics are 15-3 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.
Kansas City is 21-41 overall and 9-20 in road games. The Royals have the 10th-ranked team on-base percentage in the AL at .300.
Friday's game is the first time these teams match up this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Elvis Andrus has 16 doubles, three home runs and 11 RBI while hitting .219 for the Athletics. Christian Bethancourt is 12-for-34 with four doubles and three home runs over the past 10 games.
Salvador Perez leads Kansas City with nine home runs while slugging .408. Michael A. Taylor is 11-for-28 with two home runs and five RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Athletics: 2-8, .217 batting average, 5.64 ERA, outscored by 31 runs
Royals: 4-6, .247 batting average, 5.11 ERA, outscored by 12 runs
INJURIES: Athletics: Daulton Jefferies: 60-Day IL (arm), Skye Bolt: 60-Day IL (oblique), Stephen Piscotty: 10-Day IL (calf), Deolis Guerra: 60-Day IL (elbow), Brent Honeywell Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Royals: Joel Payamps: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Jake Brentz: 60-Day IL (flexor), Matt Peacock: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Gabe Speier: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Zack Greinke: 15-Day IL (flexor), Adalberto Mondesi: 60-Day IL (knee), Edward Olivares: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Cam Gallagher: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Tyler Zuber: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
