Cleveland Guardians (40-40, second in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (30-51, fifth in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Missouri; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Guardians: Aaron Civale (2-5, 7.04 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 45 strikeouts); Royals: Brady Singer (3-3, 4.45 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 58 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Royals -117, Guardians -104; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals host the Cleveland Guardians to open a three-game series.
Kansas City has a 14-25 record at home and a 30-51 record overall. The Royals are 22-10 in games when they out-hit their opponents.
Cleveland is 20-23 in road games and 40-40 overall. Guardians hitters are batting a collective .243, which ranks fifth in the AL.
Friday's game is the eighth time these teams meet this season. The Guardians are ahead 5-2 in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 12 home runs while slugging .444. Andrew Benintendi is 18-for-37 with two doubles and eight RBI over the last 10 games.
Jose Ramirez leads the Guardians with 47 extra base hits (27 doubles, four triples and 16 home runs). Franmil Reyes is 7-for-32 with two doubles, three home runs and seven RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 4-6, .258 batting average, 5.17 ERA, outscored by nine runs
Guardians: 3-7, .199 batting average, 5.59 ERA, outscored by 33 runs
INJURIES: Royals: Bobby Witt Jr.: day-to-day (hand), Josh Staumont: 15-Day IL (neck), Daniel Lynch: 15-Day IL (blister), Salvador Perez: 10-Day IL (thumb), Jake Brentz: 60-Day IL (flexor), Adalberto Mondesi: 60-Day IL (knee), Tyler Zuber: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Guardians: Josh Naylor: day-to-day (back), Anthony Gose: 15-Day IL (tricep), Oscar Gonzalez: 10-Day IL (ribs), Austin Hedges: 7-Day IL (concussion), Carlos Vargas: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cody Morris: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
