Kansas City Royals and Cincinnati Reds meet in game 2 of series

Updated Aug. 17, 2024 4:00 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Kansas City Royals (67-55, third in the AL Central) vs. Cincinnati Reds (60-62, second in the NL Central)

Cincinnati; Saturday, 6:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Michael Wacha (9-6, 3.50 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 99 strikeouts); Reds: Nick Lodolo (9-4, 3.99 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 111 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Reds -130, Royals +110; over/under is 9 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals face the Cincinnati Reds with a 1-0 series lead.

Cincinnati is 31-32 at home and 60-62 overall. The Reds have hit 146 total home runs to rank sixth in the NL.

Kansas City is 67-55 overall and 29-30 on the road. The Royals have the fourth-ranked team batting average in the AL at .255.

The teams play Saturday for the second time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Elly De La Cruz has 28 doubles, seven triples and 21 home runs for the Reds. Tyler Stephenson is 12-for-42 with four doubles and three home runs over the last 10 games.

Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 70 extra base hits (34 doubles, 11 triples and 25 home runs). Vinnie Pasquantino is 9-for-43 with two doubles, three home runs and nine RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Reds: 6-4, .239 batting average, 3.48 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs

Royals: 5-5, .269 batting average, 4.91 ERA, outscored by four runs

INJURIES: Reds: Graham Ashcraft: 60-Day IL (elbow), Austin Wynns: 10-Day IL (teres), Brent Suter: 15-Day IL (teres major), Nick Martini: 60-Day IL (thumb), Christian Encarnacion-Strand: 60-Day IL (hand), Brandon Williamson: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ian Gibaut: 60-Day IL (forearm), Tejay Antone: 60-Day IL (elbow), Matt McLain: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Royals: Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (back), John Schreiber: 15-Day IL (knee), Dan Altavilla: 60-Day IL (oblique), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (biceps), Kyle Wright: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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