Lauer expected to start as Milwaukee hosts Kansas City
Kansas City Royals (38-55, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Milwaukee Brewers (56-40, first in the NL Central)
Milwaukee; Wednesday, 2:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Brad Keller (6-9, 5.97 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, 83 strikeouts) Brewers: Eric Lauer (3-4, 3.83 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 54 strikeouts)
LINE: Brewers -168, Royals +147; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Milwaukee and Kansas City will square off on Wednesday.
The Brewers are 27-22 on their home turf. Milwaukee has a collective batting average of .223 this season, led by Omar Narvaez with an average of .293.
The Royals are 16-31 on the road. Kansas City has slugged .389 this season. Salvador Perez leads the team with a mark of .499.
The Royals won the last meeting 5-2. Mike Minor notched his seventh victory and Ryan O'Hearn went 1-for-1 with a home run and two RBIs for Kansas City. Hunter Strickland took his first loss for Milwaukee.
TOP PERFORMERS: Avisail Garcia leads the Brewers with 17 home runs and has 57 RBIs.
Perez leads the Royals with 21 home runs and has 56 RBIs.
LAST 10 GAMES: Brewers: 5-5, .257 batting average, 2.56 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs
Royals: 3-7, .235 batting average, 5.75 ERA, outscored by 17 runs
INJURIES: Brewers: Devin Williams: (elbow), Justin Topa: (elbow), Dylan File: (elbow), Brad Boxberger: (undisclosed), Lorenzo Cain: (hamstring), Daniel Vogelbach: (hamstring), Travis Shaw: (shoulder), Mark Mathias: (shoulder).
Royals: Daniel Tillo: (undisclosed), Brady Singer: (shoulder), Jesse Hahn: (shoulder), Danny Duffy: (forearm), Ronald Bolanos: (flexor), Emmanuel Rivera: (hand), Adalberto Mondesi: (oblique).
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.