Philadelphia Phillies (74-53, first in the NL East) vs. Kansas City Royals (71-56, second in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Missouri; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Phillies: Taijuan Walker (3-4, 5.69 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 51 strikeouts); Royals: Michael Wacha (10-6, 3.33 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 108 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Royals -137, Phillies +116; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals host the Philadelphia Phillies to open a three-game series.
Kansas City is 71-56 overall and 40-26 at home. The Royals have a 35-11 record in games when they did not allow a home run.
Philadelphia has a 74-53 record overall and a 32-30 record on the road. The Phillies have the ninth-best team slugging percentage in the majors at .418.
The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bobby Witt Jr. has 38 doubles, 11 triples and 25 home runs for the Royals. Michael Massey is 12-for-39 with a double and a home run over the past 10 games.
Alec Bohm has 43 doubles, two triples and 13 home runs while hitting .295 for the Phillies. Trea Turner is 12-for-40 with four doubles and a home run over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 7-3, .303 batting average, 3.78 ERA, outscored opponents by 19 runs
Phillies: 5-5, .259 batting average, 4.14 ERA, outscored opponents by three runs
INJURIES: Royals: Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (back), Dan Altavilla: 60-Day IL (oblique), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (biceps), Kyle Wright: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Phillies: Spencer Turnbull: 60-Day IL (back), Austin Hays: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Ranger Suarez: 15-Day IL (back), Luis Ortiz: 60-Day IL (ankle), Dylan Covey: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
___
The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
