Marlins face the Royals with 1-0 series lead

Kansas City Royals (47-51, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Miami Marlins (45-51, third in the NL East)

Miami; Saturday, 4:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Michael Wacha (4-9, 3.74 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 84 strikeouts); Marlins: Cal Quantrill (3-8, 5.62 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 67 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Royals -120, Marlins +100; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Miami Marlins face the Kansas City Royals with a 1-0 series lead.

Miami has a 45-51 record overall and a 21-27 record at home. Marlins hitters are batting a collective .254, which ranks fourth in the NL.

Kansas City is 23-25 on the road and 47-51 overall. Royals hitters are batting a collective .245, which ranks ninth in the AL.

Saturday's game is the second meeting between these teams this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Stowers has 13 doubles, three triples, 21 home runs and 59 RBIs for the Marlins. Otto Lopez is 9 for 40 with a double, three home runs and eight RBIs over the past 10 games.

Bobby Witt Jr. has 32 doubles, three triples and 14 home runs for the Royals. Vinnie Pasquantino is 12 for 41 with four doubles and three home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Marlins: 6-4, .255 batting average, 3.07 ERA, outscored opponents by 17 runs

Royals: 6-4, .270 batting average, 3.94 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs

INJURIES: Marlins: Jesus Tinoco: 60-Day IL (forearm), Connor Norby: 10-Day IL (wrist), Edward Cabrera: day-to-day (elbow), Max Meyer: 60-Day IL (hip), Ryan Weathers: 60-Day IL (lat), Griffin Conine: 60-Day IL (arm), Andrew Nardi: 60-Day IL (back), Braxton Garrett: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Royals: Michael Lorenzen: 15-Day IL (oblique), Cole Ragans: 60-Day IL (rotator cuff), Mark Canha: 10-Day IL (elbow), Daniel Lynch: 15-Day IL (elbow), Michael Massey: 10-Day IL (ankle), Hunter Harvey: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow)

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.