Braves face the Royals leading series 1-0

Updated Sep. 28, 2024 4:01 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Kansas City Royals (85-75, third in the AL Central) vs. Atlanta Braves (87-71, second in the NL East)

Atlanta; Saturday, 7:20 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Seth Lugo (16-9, 3.03 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 178 strikeouts); Braves: Reynaldo Lopez (0-0)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Braves -152, Royals +129; over/under is 7 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Atlanta Braves lead 1-0 in a three-game series with the Kansas City Royals.

Atlanta is 87-71 overall and 44-33 in home games. The Braves have gone 60-25 in games when they record at least eight hits.

Kansas City is 40-39 on the road and 85-75 overall. The Royals have hit 168 total home runs to rank 10th in the AL.

The teams square off Saturday for the second time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jorge Soler has 31 doubles, a triple and 21 home runs for the Braves. Michael Harris II is 18-for-44 with a double, a triple and five home runs over the past 10 games.

Bobby Witt Jr. has 45 doubles, 11 triples and 32 home runs for the Royals. Salvador Perez is 9-for-41 with two RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Braves: 6-4, .272 batting average, 3.78 ERA, outscored opponents by 12 runs

Royals: 3-7, .195 batting average, 2.97 ERA, outscored by 13 runs

INJURIES: Braves: Reynaldo Lopez: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Austin Riley: 10-Day IL (hand), Alex Jordan Minter: 60-Day IL (hip), Raymond Kerr: 60-Day IL (elbow), Spencer Strider: 60-Day IL (elbow), Huascar Ynoa: 60-Day IL (elbow), Ronald Acuna Jr.: 60-Day IL (knee), Angel Perdomo: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Royals: James McArthur: 15-Day IL (elbow), Chris Stratton: 15-Day IL (forearm), Vinnie Pasquantino: 10-Day IL (thumb), Will Smith: 15-Day IL (back), Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (back), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (biceps), Kyle Wright: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.