Texas Rangers (18-22, fourth in the AL West) vs. Kansas City Royals (15-28, fifth in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Kansas; Thursday, 1:15 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rangers: Lance Lynn (4-3, 5.48 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 44 strikeouts) Royals: Homer Bailey (4-3, 4.83 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 38 strikeouts)
LINE: Rangers favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 10 runs
BOTTOM LINE: Both Texas and Kansas City are looking for a series win with a victory.
The Royals are 10-14 in home games. The Kansas City pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 5.03. Brad Keller leads the team with a 4.47 ERA.
The Rangers are 6-15 on the road. Texas' team on-base percentage of .331 is fourteenth in the MLB. Logan Forsythe leads the team with an OBP of .414. The Rangers won the last meeting 6-1. Mike Minor recorded his fourth victory and Ronald Guzman went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs for Texas. Jorge Lopez took his fifth loss for Kansas City.
TOP PERFORMERS: Adalberto Mondesi leads the Royals with 35 RBIs and is batting .281. Alex Gordon is 12-for-37 with two doubles, three home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
Joey Gallo leads the Rangers with 12 home runs and has 30 RBIs. Hunter Pence is 8-for-26 with three doubles, four home runs and 12 RBIs over the last 10 games for Texas.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 4-6, .264 batting average, 4.87 ERA, outscored opponents by one run
Rangers: 4-6, .234 batting average, 5.89 ERA, outscored by 10 runs
Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Brian Flynn: 10-day IL (elbow), Lucas Duda: 10-day IL (lumbar strain), Salvador Perez: 60-day IL (elbow).
Rangers Injuries: Edinson Volquez: 60-day IL (elbow), Drew Smyly: day-to-day (ankle), Yohander Mendez: 60-day IL (elbow), Shawn Kelley: 10-day IL (infection), Taylor Hearn: 10-day IL (elbow), Luke Farrell: 60-day IL (jaw), Scott Heineman: 60-day IL (shoulder), Elvis Andrus: 10-day IL (hamstring).
