Kansas City takes 9-game losing streak into matchup with Minnesota
Minnesota Twins (33-46, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (33-47, fifth in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Missouri; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: J.A. Happ (4-3, 5.83 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 55 strikeouts) Royals: Brady Singer (3-6, 4.70 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 81 strikeouts)
LINE: Royals -110, Twins -106; over/under is 10 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Kansas City enters the game as losers of their last nine games.
The Royals are 15-23 against AL Central opponents. Kansas City has hit 79 home runs this season, last in the American League. Salvador Perez leads the team with 19, averaging one every 16.5 at-bats.
The Twins have gone 14-19 against division opponents. Minnesota has slugged .433, good for fifth in the MLB. Nelson Cruz leads the team with a .584 slugging percentage, including 30 extra-base hits and 18 home runs.
The Twins won the last meeting 2-1. Luke Farrell earned his first victory and Miguel Sano went 1-for-5 with a double and an RBI for Minnesota. Brady Singer took his fifth loss for Kansas City.
TOP PERFORMERS: Perez leads the Royals with 19 home runs and is slugging .508.
Cruz leads the Twins with 76 hits and has 45 RBIs.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 1-9, .243 batting average, 7.97 ERA, outscored by 43 runs
Twins: 5-5, .256 batting average, 5.40 ERA, outscored by eight runs
INJURIES: Royals: Daniel Tillo: (undisclosed), Jesse Hahn: (shoulder), Wade Davis: (forearm), Ronald Bolanos: (flexor), Andrew Benintendi: (rib), Emmanuel Rivera: (hand), Adalberto Mondesi: (oblique), Cam Gallagher: (shoulder).
Twins: Cody Stashak: (back), Devin Smeltzer: (elbow), Michael Pineda: (elbow), Luke Farrell: (oblique), Randy Dobnak: (finger), Edwar Colina: (elbow), Rob Refsnyder: (hamstring), Kyle Garlick: (hernia), Jake Cave: (back), Byron Buxton: (hand), Mitch Garver: (groin).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
