Kansas City Royals (63-92, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Cleveland Guardians (88-68, first in the AL Central)
Cleveland; Friday, 7:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Brady Singer (10-4, 2.99 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 144 strikeouts); Guardians: Aaron Civale (3-6, 5.19 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 84 strikeouts)
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Guardians -129, Royals +108; over/under is 7 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals come into the matchup with the Cleveland Guardians after losing three games in a row.
Cleveland is 88-68 overall and 42-33 at home. Guardians pitchers have a collective 3.48 ERA, which ranks sixth in MLB play.
Kansas City is 63-92 overall and 24-50 on the road. The Royals have a 24-9 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.
The teams match up Friday for the 14th time this season. The Guardians lead the season series 8-5.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Ramirez leads Cleveland with 28 home runs while slugging .507. Steven Kwan is 20-for-45 with two home runs and 12 RBI over the past 10 games.
Bobby Witt Jr. has 31 doubles, six triples and 20 home runs while hitting .256 for the Royals. MJ Melendez is 7-for-37 with a double and three home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Guardians: 9-1, .260 batting average, 2.46 ERA, outscored opponents by 30 runs
Royals: 5-5, .289 batting average, 5.38 ERA, outscored by eight runs
INJURIES: Guardians: Zach Plesac: 15-Day IL (hand), Anthony Gose: 60-Day IL (tricep)
Royals: Josh Staumont: 15-Day IL (biceps), 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.
