Reds have been one of Royals' least formidable interleague foes

The Kansas City Royals play two games in Cincinnati this week, and they've had plenty of success against the Reds through the years. They swept a two-game series at Kauffman Stadium in May, are 7-1 against the Reds since 2007 and have an 11-8 mark all-time, making Cincinnati one of their least formidable interleague opponents.

ROYALS' HIGHEST WIN PERCENTAGE VS. INTERLEAGUE OPPONENT (ALL-TIME)

Royals' opponent Record Win percentage
San Francisco Giants 9-3 .750
Milwaukee Brewers 15-10 .600
Cincinnati Reds 11-8 .579
New York Mets
5-4 .556
Los Angeles Dodgers 5-4 .556
Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 .556

The Royals enter the series with a 12 1/2-game lead over the Twins in the AL Central, the biggest advantage of any current division leader in the majors. Obviously, they haven't let their World Series loss to the Giants last year slow them down in 2015.

MOST GAMES UP IN DIVISION/LEAGUE AT SEASON'S END BY PREVIOUS YEAR'S WORLD SERIES LOSER (AMERICAN LEAGUE ALL-TIME)

Team Season-ending lead Season result
1927 New York Yankees
19 Won 1927 World Series
1923 New York Yankees
16 Won 1923 World Series
1970 Baltimore Orioles 15 Won 1970 World Series
1996 Cleveland Indians 14 1/2 Lost 1996 AL Division Series
1943 New York Yankees
13 1/2 Won 1943 World Series

Utilityman Ben Zobrist is making a great first impression with the Royals after being obtained from Oakland before the trade deadline.

ROYALS MOST TIMES REACHING BASE IN FIRST 16 GAMES WITH TEAM*

Player Number Dates
Hal Morris 34 3/31/98-4/18/98
Scott Podsednik 32 4/5/10-4/25/10
Ben Zobrist 31 7/30/15-8/16/15
Jeff King 31 4/2/97-4/22/97
Shane Mack 30 4/9/98-4/26/98
* Hit, walk or hit by pitch
   

Zobrist has 12 walks in 16 games with the Royals, giving Kansas City some much-needed patience at the plate. Zobrist, in fact, has at least one hit and one base on balls in 11 games since the All-Star break (with both Oakland and KC). Only four major league players -- including Cincinnati first baseman Joey Votto -- have more in that span.

MOST GAMES WITH AT LEAST ONE HIT AND ONE WALK SINCE ALL-STAR BREAK (MLB)

Player Team Games
Adam Eaton Chicago White Sox 14
Paul Goldschmidt Arizona Diamondbacks 14
Joey Votto Cincinnati Reds 13
Bryce Harper Washington Nationals 12
Ben Zobrist Oakland A's/Kansas City Royals 11
Josh Donaldson Toronto Blue Jays 11
Dexter Fowler Chicago Cubs 11

REDS' STARTING ROTATION SINCE JULY 29

Statistic Number MLB rank
Record 7-9 16th
ERA 4.81 18th
Opponent batting average .253 11th
Opponent batting average with RISP .338 28th