Royals host the Guardians in first of 4-game series

Cleveland Guardians (18-17, first in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (15-19, fourth in the AL Central)

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

PITCHING PROBABLES: Guardians: Tanner Bibee (0-4, 4.08 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 32 strikeouts); Royals: Michael Wacha (2-2, 3.13 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 33 strikeouts)

LINE: Royals -124, Guardians +105; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals begin a four-game series at home against the Cleveland Guardians on Monday.

Kansas City has a 9-7 record at home and a 15-19 record overall. The Royals have the sixth-ranked team batting average in the AL at .241.

Cleveland has a 9-10 record on the road and an 18-17 record overall. The Guardians have gone 11-2 in games when they scored at least five runs.

The matchup Monday is the fourth time these teams square off this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bobby Witt Jr. has nine doubles, a triple and two home runs for the Royals. Maikel Garcia is 12 for 40 with three doubles, a triple and a home run over the last 10 games.

Chase DeLauter has a .304 batting average to lead the Guardians, and has eight doubles, a triple and six home runs. Angel Martinez is 11 for 37 with three home runs and seven RBIs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 7-3, .272 batting average, 3.96 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs

Guardians: 4-6, .244 batting average, 3.72 ERA, outscored opponents by one run

INJURIES: Royals: Stephen Kolek: 15-Day IL (oblique), Carlos Estevez: 15-Day IL (foot), Bailey Falter: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jonathan India: 10-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Guardians: Shawn Armstrong: 15-Day IL (groin), Gabriel Arias: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Andrew Walters: 15-Day IL (lat)

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