Royals visit the Cubs to start 3-game series

Kansas City Royals (48-52, fourth in the AL Central) vs. Chicago Cubs (59-40, first in the NL Central)

Chicago; Monday, 8:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Noah Cameron (3-4, 2.31 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 58 strikeouts); Cubs: Ryan Brasier (0-0, 1.04 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 14 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Cubs -140, Royals +118; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Chicago Cubs host the Kansas City Royals to begin a three-game series.

Chicago has a 59-40 record overall and a 32-17 record in home games. The Cubs are third in MLB play with 148 total home runs, averaging 1.5 per game.

Kansas City has a 24-26 record in road games and a 48-52 record overall. The Royals are 18-42 in games when they have given up a home run.

The teams meet Monday for the first time this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Seiya Suzuki leads the Cubs with 26 home runs while slugging .545. Nico Hoerner is 13 for 38 with a double, two triples and four RBIs over the last 10 games.

Salvador Perez leads the Royals with 15 home runs while slugging .444. Bobby Witt Jr. is 10 for 39 with three home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Cubs: 6-4, .251 batting average, 3.52 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs

Royals: 6-4, .256 batting average, 3.23 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs

INJURIES: Cubs: Porter Hodge: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Jameson Taillon: 15-Day IL (calf), Miguel Amaya: 10-Day IL (oblique), Eli Morgan: 60-Day IL (elbow), Javier Assad: 60-Day IL (oblique), Justin Steele: 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)

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