Cleveland Guardians (83-76, first in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (68-91, fifth in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Missouri; Friday, 7:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Guardians: Gavin Williams (14-8, 3.63 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 244 strikeouts); Royals: Noah Cameron (9-8, 3.92 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 155 strikeouts)
LINE: Guardians -142, Royals +118; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals begin a three-game series at home against the Cleveland Guardians on Friday.
Kansas City has gone 40-38 in home games and 68-91 overall. The Royals have the third-ranked team batting average in the AL at .246.
Cleveland has an 83-76 record overall and a 42-36 record in road games. The Guardians have a 61-27 record in games when they record at least eight hits.
The matchup Friday is the 11th meeting between these teams this season. The season series is tied 5-5.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bobby Witt Jr. has 32 doubles, a triple and 18 home runs for the Royals. Vinnie Pasquantino is 11 for 34 with three doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.
Chase DeLauter has 15 home runs, 57 walks and 65 RBIs while hitting .287 for the Guardians. Angel Martinez is 15 for 38 with five doubles, a triple, four home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 2-8, .243 batting average, 6.32 ERA, outscored by 21 runs
Guardians: 8-2, .258 batting average, 2.73 ERA, outscored opponents by 17 runs
INJURIES: Royals: James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow), Connor Seabold: 60-Day IL (lat), Carlos Estevez: 60-Day IL (foot), Stephen Kolek: 60-Day IL (flexor), Beck Way: 15-Day IL (back), Nick Mears: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Luinder Avila: 60-Day IL (forearm), Cole Ragans: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jonathan India: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Guardians: Rhys Hoskins: 10-Day IL (back), Colin Holderman: 15-Day IL (wrist)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.