Minnesota tries for series sweep over Royals

Published

Kansas City Royals (22-48, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Minnesota Twins (47-22, first in the AL Central)

Minneapolis; Sunday, 2 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Jakob Junis (4-6, 5.35 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 71 strikeouts) Twins: Martin Perez (7-2, 3.97 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 67 strikeouts)

LINE: Twins favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota will sweep the series over Kansas City with a win.

The Twins are 16-6 against the rest of their division. Minnesota has hit an MLB-leading 135 home runs this season, Eddie Rosario leads the club with 19 homers.

The Royals are 10-18 in division matchups. Kansas City hitters have posted a team on-base percentage of .305 this season, led by Whit Merrifield with a mark of .346. The Twins won the last meeting 5-4. Jake Odorizzi recorded his 10th victory and Marwin Gonzalez went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs for Minnesota. Glenn Sparkman registered his third loss for Kansas City.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jorge Polanco leads the Twins with 36 extra base hits and is batting .333. Nelson Cruz is 11-for-32 with five home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Minnesota.

Jorge Soler leads the Royals with 35 extra base hits and has 49 RBIs. Merrifield has 15 hits and is batting .357 over the last 10 games for Kansas City.

LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 7-3, .273 batting average, 4.25 ERA, outscored opponents by 12 runs

Royals: 3-7, .220 batting average, 3.78 ERA, outscored by 12 runs

Twins Injuries: Adalberto Mejia: 10-day IL (calf), Byron Buxton: day-to-day (wrist).

Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Hunter Dozier: 10-day IL (chest), Salvador Perez: 60-day IL (elbow).