Baltimore Orioles (24-34, fifth in the AL East) vs. Kansas City Royals (19-37, fifth in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Missouri; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Orioles: Bruce Zimmermann (2-4, 4.40 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 42 strikeouts); Royals: Jonathan Heasley (0-3, 4.62 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, 15 strikeouts)
LINE: Royals -112, Orioles -107; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals host the Baltimore Orioles with a 1-0 series lead.
Kansas City is 11-19 at home and 19-37 overall. Royals hitters are batting a collective .237, which ranks ninth in the AL.
Baltimore is 24-34 overall and 9-19 in road games. The Orioles are 17-6 in games when they scored at least five runs.
Friday's game is the fifth meeting between these teams this season. The season series is tied 2-2.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bobby Witt Jr. has 14 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 29 RBI for the Royals. Salvador Perez is 8-for-38 with two doubles, a triple, two home runs and nine RBI over the last 10 games.
Austin Hays has 13 doubles and seven home runs while hitting .290 for the Orioles. Trey Mancini is 14-for-36 with four doubles, a triple and three home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 3-7, .233 batting average, 5.90 ERA, outscored by 26 runs
Orioles: 4-6, .232 batting average, 5.06 ERA, outscored by three runs
INJURIES: Royals: Matt Peacock: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Gabe Speier: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Zack Greinke: 15-Day IL (flexor), Amir Garrett: 15-Day IL (undisclosed), Adalberto Mondesi: 60-Day IL (knee), Edward Olivares: 10-Day IL (quadricep), Cam Gallagher: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Jake Brentz: 10-Day IL (flexor), Tyler Zuber: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Orioles: Joey Krehbiel: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Alexander Wells: 60-Day IL (elbow), Chris Ellis: 60-Day IL (shoulder), John Means: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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