Cleveland Guardians (51-51, second in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (50-53, third in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Missouri; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Guardians: Gavin Williams (6-4, 3.54 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 106 strikeouts); Royals: Michael Wacha (4-9, 3.62 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 85 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Royals -115, Guardians -105; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Guardians are looking to build upon a four-game win streak with a victory against the Kansas City Royals.
Kansas City has a 50-53 record overall and a 24-26 record at home. Royals hitters are batting a collective .245, which ranks ninth in the AL.
Cleveland has a 51-51 record overall and a 26-26 record in road games. The Guardians are 32-9 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.
Friday's game is the seventh meeting between these teams this season. The Guardians hold a 4-2 advantage in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bobby Witt Jr. has 14 home runs, 31 walks and 56 RBIs while hitting .288 for the Royals. Salvador Perez is 15 for 37 with two doubles, seven home runs and 10 RBIs over the past 10 games.
Carlos Santana has seven doubles and 11 home runs for the Guardians. Jose Ramirez is 10 for 34 with two doubles, a triple and four home runs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 5-5, .252 batting average, 3.88 ERA, outscored opponents by one run
Guardians: 7-3, .233 batting average, 3.71 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs
INJURIES: Royals: Nick Loftin: 7-Day IL (concussion), Michael Lorenzen: 15-Day IL (oblique), Cole Ragans: 60-Day IL (rotator cuff), Mark Canha: 10-Day IL (elbow), Daniel Lynch: 15-Day IL (elbow), Michael Massey: 10-Day IL (ankle), Hunter Harvey: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Guardians: Paul Sewald: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Lane Thomas: 10-Day IL (foot), Gabriel Arias: 10-Day IL (ankle), Will Brennan: 60-Day IL (forearm), Andrew Walters: 60-Day IL (lat), Ben Lively: 60-Day IL (forearm), Shane Bieber: 60-Day IL (elbow), Trevor Stephan: 60-Day IL (elbow), John Means: 60-Day IL (elbow), Sam Hentges: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
