Reds have been one of Royals' least formidable interleague foes
The Kansas City Royals play two games in Cincinnati this week, and they've had plenty of success against the Reds through the years. They swept a two-game series at Kauffman Stadium in May, are 7-1 against the Reds since 2007 and have an 11-8 mark all-time, making Cincinnati one of their least formidable interleague opponents.
ROYALS' HIGHEST WIN PERCENTAGE VS. INTERLEAGUE OPPONENT (ALL-TIME)
| Royals' opponent | Record | Win percentage |
| San Francisco Giants | 9-3 | .750 |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 15-10 | .600 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 11-8 | .579 |
| New York Mets |
5-4 | .556 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 5-4 | .556 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 5-4 | .556 |
The Royals enter the series with a 12 1/2-game lead over the Twins in the AL Central, the biggest advantage of any current division leader in the majors. Obviously, they haven't let their World Series loss to the Giants last year slow them down in 2015.
MOST GAMES UP IN DIVISION/LEAGUE AT SEASON'S END BY PREVIOUS YEAR'S WORLD SERIES LOSER (AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-TIME)
| Team | Season-ending lead | Season result |
| 1927 New York Yankees |
19 | Won 1927 World Series |
| 1923 New York Yankees |
16 | Won 1923 World Series |
| 1970 Baltimore Orioles | 15 | Won 1970 World Series |
| 1996 Cleveland Indians | 14 1/2 | Lost 1996 AL Division Series |
| 1943 New York Yankees |
13 1/2 | Won 1943 World Series |
Utilityman Ben Zobrist is making a great first impression with the Royals after being obtained from Oakland before the trade deadline.
ROYALS MOST TIMES REACHING BASE IN FIRST 16 GAMES WITH TEAM*
| Player | Number | Dates |
| Hal Morris | 34 | 3/31/98-4/18/98 |
| Scott Podsednik | 32 | 4/5/10-4/25/10 |
| Ben Zobrist | 31 | 7/30/15-8/16/15 |
| Jeff King | 31 | 4/2/97-4/22/97 |
| Shane Mack | 30 | 4/9/98-4/26/98 |
|
* Hit, walk or hit by pitch |
Zobrist has 12 walks in 16 games with the Royals, giving Kansas City some much-needed patience at the plate. Zobrist, in fact, has at least one hit and one base on balls in 11 games since the All-Star break (with both Oakland and KC). Only four major league players -- including Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto -- have more in that span.
MOST GAMES WITH AT LEAST ONE HIT AND ONE WALK SINCE ALL-STAR BREAK (MLB)
| Player | Team | Games |
| Adam Eaton | Chicago White Sox | 14 |
| Paul Goldschmidt | Arizona Diamondbacks | 14 |
| Joey Votto | Cincinnati Reds | 13 |
| Bryce Harper | Washington Nationals | 12 |
| Ben Zobrist | Oakland A's/Kansas City Royals | 11 |
| Josh Donaldson | Toronto Blue Jays | 11 |
| Dexter Fowler | Chicago Cubs | 11 |
REDS' STARTING ROTATION SINCE JULY 29
| Statistic | Number | MLB rank |
| Record | 7-9 | 16th |
| ERA | 4.81 | 18th |
| Opponent batting average | .253 | 11th |
| Opponent batting average with RISP | .338 | 28th |
