Rangers play the Royals leading series 1-0

Updated Jun. 22, 2024 4:01 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Kansas City Royals (42-35, second in the AL Central) vs. Texas Rangers (35-40, third in the AL West)

Arlington, Texas; Saturday, 4:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Michael Wacha (0-0); Rangers: Jon Gray (2-3, 3.31 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 65 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Rangers -148, Royals +125; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Texas Rangers play the Kansas City Royals with a 1-0 series lead.

Texas is 35-40 overall and 18-19 at home. Rangers hitters have a collective .307 on-base percentage, the 10th-ranked percentage in the AL.

Kansas City has a 42-35 record overall and a 17-21 record in road games. The Royals are 28-15 in games when they record eight or more hits.

The matchup Saturday is the fifth time these teams match up this season. The Rangers hold a 3-1 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Corey Seager leads Texas with 14 home runs while slugging .443. Wyatt Langford is 11-for-35 with a home run and nine RBI over the last 10 games.

Bobby Witt Jr. has a .318 batting average to lead the Royals, and has 20 doubles, seven triples and 12 home runs. Kyle Isbel is 10-for-31 with a home run and two RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 4-6, .205 batting average, 6.07 ERA, outscored by 25 runs

Royals: 3-7, .208 batting average, 5.19 ERA, outscored by 22 runs

INJURIES: Rangers: Evan Carter: 10-Day IL (lumbar), Cody Bradford: 60-Day IL (back), Austin Pruitt: 60-Day IL (knee), Max Scherzer: 60-Day IL (back), Josh Sborz: 15-Day IL (rotator cuff), Justin Foscue: 60-Day IL (oblique strain), Joshua Jung: 60-Day IL (wrist), Tyler Mahle: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jacob deGrom: 60-Day IL (elbow), Carson Coleman: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Royals: Kyle Isbel: day-to-day (back), Dan Altavilla: 10-Day IL (oblique), Michael Wacha: 15-Day IL (foot), Michael Massey: 10-Day IL (back), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (biceps), Kris Bubic: 60-Day IL (elbow), 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.