Pirates take 4-game losing streak into matchup against the Royals

Pittsburgh Pirates (38-54, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (44-48, second in the AL Central)

Kansas City, Missouri; Tuesday, 7:40 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Pirates: Mitch Keller (3-10, 3.64 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 84 strikeouts); Royals: Seth Lugo (6-5, 2.65 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 83 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Royals -141, Pirates +119; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Pittsburgh Pirates look to break their four-game skid with a victory against the Kansas City Royals.

Kansas City is 21-24 at home and 44-48 overall. The Royals have a 31-10 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents.

Pittsburgh has a 38-54 record overall and a 12-33 record in road games. The Pirates have a 27-9 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.

The matchup Tuesday is the second meeting between these teams this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bobby Witt Jr. has 30 doubles, three triples and 13 home runs while hitting .296 for the Royals. Vinnie Pasquantino is 11 for 40 with four doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.

Andrew McCutchen has 14 doubles and eight home runs for the Pirates. Tommy Pham is 13 for 35 with three home runs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 6-4, .246 batting average, 3.83 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs

Pirates: 6-4, .245 batting average, 2.09 ERA, outscored opponents by 25 runs

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

Pirates: Ryan Borucki: 15-Day IL (back), Endy Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Enmanuel Valdez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Justin Lawrence: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tim Mayza: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Jared Jones: 60-Day IL (elbow), Johan Oviedo: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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