Kansas City Royals (48-72, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (63-54, second in the AL East)
St. Petersburg, Florida; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Brady Singer (6-4, 3.29 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 107 strikeouts); Rays: Shane McClanahan (11-5, 2.28 ERA, .87 WHIP, 165 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Rays -207, Royals +173; over/under is 6 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals head into the matchup with the Tampa Bay Rays after losing four games in a row.
Tampa Bay has a 63-54 record overall and a 36-22 record in home games. The Rays have a 17-7 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.
Kansas City has gone 19-38 on the road and 48-72 overall. The Royals have a 29-14 record in games when they scored at least five runs.
The matchup Friday is the fifth time these teams match up this season. The season series is tied 2-2.
TOP PERFORMERS: Yandy Diaz has 25 doubles and seven home runs while hitting .276 for the Rays. Randy Arozarena is 8-for-36 with three doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.
MJ Melendez has 14 doubles, two triples and 14 home runs for the Royals. Vinnie Pasquantino is 14-for-31 with a double and four home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 6-4, .222 batting average, 2.93 ERA, outscored opponents by 17 runs
Royals: 3-7, .231 batting average, 4.81 ERA, outscored by 26 runs
INJURIES: Rays: Yandy Diaz: day-to-day (knee), Matt Wisler: 15-Day IL (neck), Shane Baz: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kevin Kiermaier: 60-Day IL (hip), Mike Zunino: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Josh Fleming: 15-Day IL (oblique), Wander Franco: 10-Day IL (wrist), J.P. Feyereisen: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Manuel Margot: 60-Day IL (knee), Andrew Kittredge: 60-Day IL (elbow), JT Chargois: 60-Day IL (oblique), Brendan McKay: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Tyler Glasnow: 60-Day IL (elbow), Nick Anderson: 60-Day IL (elbow), Yonny Chirinos: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Royals: Taylor Clarke: 15-Day IL (oblique), Edward Olivares: 60-Day IL (quadricep), Angel Zerpa: 60-Day IL (knee), Jake Brentz: 60-Day IL (flexor), Adalberto Mondesi: 60-Day IL (knee), Tyler Zuber: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
