Minnesota puts win streak on the line against Kansas City

Published

Minnesota Twins (100-60, first in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (58-102, fourth in the AL Central)

Kansas City, Kansas; Saturday, 2:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Cody Stashak (0-1, 3.13 ERA) Royals: Glenn Sparkman (4-11, 6.12 ERA)

LINE: Twins -181; over/under is 10 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota enters the game as winners of their last five games.

The Royals are 30-44 against AL Central teams. Kansas City has a collective batting average of .247 this season, led by Whit Merrifield with an average of .301.

The Twins have gone 49-25 against division opponents. Minnesota has hit 303 home runs this season, second in the league. Nelson Cruz leads the team with 40, averaging one every 11.2 at-bats. The Twins won the last meeting 6-2. Jose Berrios earned his 14th victory and Ryan LaMarre went 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs for Minnesota. Eric Skoglund took his third loss for Kansas City.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jorge Soler leads the Royals with 79 extra base hits and is slugging .553. Nicky Lopez is 11-for-20 with five doubles, a triple and five RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.

Cruz leads the Twins with 40 home runs and has 107 RBIs. Miguel Sano is 10-for-35 with a double, a triple, five home runs and 13 RBIs over the last 10 games for Minnesota.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 3-7, .271 batting average, 5.99 ERA, outscored by 11 runs

Twins: 8-2, .274 batting average, 4.20 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs

Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: (hip), Jakob Junis: (undisclosed), Adalberto Mondesi: (shoulder), Kelvin Gutierrez: (toe), Salvador Perez: (elbow), Nick Dini: (shoulder).

Twins Injuries: Sean Poppen: (elbow), Jake Odorizzi: (hamstring), Sam Dyson: (shoulder), Max Kepler: (shoulder), Marwin Gonzalez: (oblique), Byron Buxton: (shoulder), Ehire Adrianza: (oblique).