Kansas City in action against Minnesota following Sparkman's strong outing
Minnesota Twins (48-26, first in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (26-49, fifth in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Kansas; Friday, 8:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Martin Perez (7-3, 4.09 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 74 strikeouts) Royals: Jakob Junis (4-6, 5.34 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 76 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: Kansas City heads into the matchup after a strong showing by Glenn Sparkman. Sparkman went seven innings, giving up one run on five hits with three strikeouts against Minnesota.
The Royals are 12-18 against teams from the AL Central. Kansas City has hit 75 home runs as a team this season. Jorge Soler leads the club with 20, averaging one every 13.9 at-bats.
The Twins are 16-8 against the rest of their division. Minnesota ranks second in the league in hitting with a .271 batting average, Jorge Polanco leads the team with an average of .325. The Royals won the last meeting 4-1. Glenn Sparkman secured his second victory and Alex Gordon went 1-for-4 with a double and two RBIs for Kansas City. Jake Odorizzi took his third loss for Minnesota.
TOP PERFORMERS: Whit Merrifield leads the Royals with 94 hits and is batting .300. Soler is 10-for-34 with two doubles, three home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
Eddie Rosario leads the Twins with 19 home runs and is batting .265. Max Kepler is 13-for-40 with three doubles, four home runs and 10 RBIs over the last 10 games for Minnesota.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 6-4, .251 batting average, 3.41 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs
Twins: 5-5, .253 batting average, 3.77 ERA, outscored by five runs
Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Adalberto Mondesi: 10-day IL (groin), Hunter Dozier: 10-day IL (chest), Salvador Perez: 60-day IL (elbow).
Twins Injuries: Adalberto Mejia: 60-day IL (calf), Byron Buxton: 10-day IL (wrist), Marwin Gonzalez: 10-day IL (hamstring), Ehire Adrianza: 10-day IL (abdominal), Mitch Garver: day-to-day (heel).
