Loftin leads Royals against the Pirates after 4-hit game

Kansas City Royals (67-88, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates (78-77, third in the NL Central)

Pittsburgh; Sunday, 1:35 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Michael Wacha (9-9, 3.34 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 149 strikeouts); Pirates: Lake Bachar (1-4, 3.50 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 86 strikeouts)

LINE: Royals -123, Pirates +100; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals take on the Pittsburgh Pirates after Nick Loftin had four hits against the Pirates on Saturday.

The Pirates are 78-77 overall and 41-36 at home. The Pirates are seventh in the NL with 179 total home runs, averaging 1.2 per game.

The Royals are 67-88 overall and 28-52 on the road. The Royals have gone 38-71 in games when they have allowed a home run.

The matchup Sunday is the third time these teams match up this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bryan Reynolds has 39 doubles, two triples and 17 home runs for the Pirates. Rafael Flores is 15 for 36 with a double and two home runs over the past 10 games.

Bobby Witt Jr. has 30 doubles, a triple and 18 home runs for the Royals. Michael Massey is 11 for 38 with a double and two home runs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Pirates: 6-4, .271 batting average, 4.60 ERA, outscored by four runs

Royals: 3-7, .212 batting average, 4.29 ERA, outscored by 12 runs

INJURIES: Pirates: Kirby Yates: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Esmerlyn Valdez: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Braxton Ashcraft: 15-Day IL (arm), Isaac Mattson: 15-Day IL (hip), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (hip), Mitch Keller: 60-Day IL (arm)

Royals: Tony Gonsolin: 15-Day IL (elbow), Connor Seabold: 60-Day IL (lat), Carlos Estevez: 60-Day IL (foot), Stephen Kolek: 60-Day IL (flexor), Beck Way: 15-Day IL (back), Nick Mears: 60-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luinder Avila: 60-Day IL (forearm), Cole Ragans: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jonathan India: 60-Day IL (shoulder), 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.