Kansas City takes 4-game skid into matchup with Washington
Kansas City Royals (29-59, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Washington Nationals (45-41, second in the AL East)
Washington; Friday, 7 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Brad Keller (4-9, 4.63 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 75 strikeouts) Nationals: Austin Voth (0-0, 4.36 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 10 strikeouts)
LINE: Nationals favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 10 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Kansas City enters the game as losers of their last four games.
The Nationals are 24-19 on their home turf. Washington has slugged .435 this season. Anthony Rendon leads the team with a mark of .627.
The Royals are 13-31 in road games. Kansas City has a collective .245 this season, led by Whit Merrifield with an average of .308. This is the first meeting of the season for these two teams.
TOP PERFORMERS: Rendon leads the Nationals with 20 home runs and is slugging .627. Trea Turner has 12 hits and is batting .279 over the last 10 games for Washington.
Merrifield leads the Royals with 114 hits and has 44 RBIs. Hunter Dozier is 7-for-39 with two doubles, a triple, a home run and six RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 8-2, .239 batting average, 2.80 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs
Royals: 2-8, .247 batting average, 6.36 ERA, outscored by 25 runs
Nationals Injuries: Austen Williams: 10-day IL (shoulder), Justin Miller: 10-day IL (shoulder), Jeremy Hellickson: 60-day IL (shoulder), Koda Glover: 60-day IL (forearm), Kyle Barraclough: 10-day IL (forearm).
Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Salvador Perez: 60-day IL (elbow).
