Royals play the Twins leading series 1-0

Jun 5, 2027, 04:02 am

Kansas City Royals (25-38, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Minnesota Twins (29-35, third in the AL Central)

Minneapolis; Friday, 8:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Michael Wacha (4-3, 3.23 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 65 strikeouts); Twins: Zebby Matthews (1-3, 4.63 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 24 strikeouts)

LINE: Twins -117, Royals -103; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals bring a 1-0 lead into the next game of the series against the Minnesota Twins.

Minnesota has gone 17-16 in home games and 29-35 overall. The Twins have the eighth-ranked team slugging percentage in the AL at .387.

Kansas City has a 10-21 record on the road and a 25-38 record overall. The Royals have a 15-9 record in games when they scored five or more runs.

Friday's game is the fifth meeting between these teams this season. The Royals are ahead 3-1 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Byron Buxton has a .258 batting average to lead the Twins, and has 10 doubles, a triple and 18 home runs. Luke Keaschall is 11 for 36 with three RBI over the past 10 games.

Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 26 extra base hits (16 doubles, a triple and nine home runs). Michael Massey is 11 for 29 with a double, three home runs and eight RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 3-7, .225 batting average, 7.13 ERA, outscored by 28 runs

Royals: 3-7, .229 batting average, 5.89 ERA, outscored by 23 runs

INJURIES: Twins: Bailey Ober: 15-Day IL (elbow), Kendry Rojas: 15-Day IL (elbow), David Festa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Garrett Acton: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Jeffers: 10-Day IL (hand), Cole Sands: 15-Day IL (forearm), Mick Abel: 15-Day IL (elbow), Pablo Lopez: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Royals: Jonathan India: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Maikel Garcia: day-to-day (hamstring), Kris Bubic: 15-Day IL (elbow), Nick Mears: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Cole Ragans: 15-Day IL (elbow), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow), Carlos Estevez: 15-Day IL (foot), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.