Kansas City visits Minnesota, looks to build on Duffy's strong showing

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Kansas City Royals (56-97, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Minnesota Twins (93-59, first in the AL Central)

Minneapolis; Thursday, 7 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Mike Montgomery (3-9, 4.70 ERA) Twins: Kyle Gibson (13-7, 4.76 ERA)

LINE: Twins -256; over/under is 10 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Kansas City heads into the matchup after a strong showing by Danny Duffy. Duffy went seven innings, surrendering zero runs on two hits with six strikeouts against Oakland.

The Twins are 42-24 against AL Central opponents. Minnesota has a team on-base percentage of .336, good for fourth in the American League. Nelson Cruz leads the club with a mark of .375.

The Royals are 29-40 against teams from the AL Central. Kansas City has hit 156 home runs as a team this season. Jorge Soler leads the team with 45, averaging one every 12.4 at-bats.

TOP PERFORMERS: Max Kepler leads the Twins with 68 extra base hits and is slugging .519. Miguel Sano is 6-for-25 with three home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Minnesota.

Soler leads the Royals with 109 RBIs and is batting .256. Adalberto Mondesi is 11-for-38 with a double, a triple, two home runs and five RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.

LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 5-5, .250 batting average, 4.40 ERA, outscored by three runs

Royals: 3-7, .228 batting average, 5.48 ERA, outscored by 26 runs

Twins Injuries: Sergio Romo: (knee), Sean Poppen: (elbow), Sam Dyson: (biceps), Byron Buxton: (shoulder), Ehire Adrianza: (oblique).

Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: (hip), Jakob Junis: (undisclosed), Kelvin Gutierrez: (toe), Salvador Perez: (elbow).