Twins aim to sweep 3-game series against the Royals

Kansas City Royals (65-55, third in the AL Central) vs. Minnesota Twins (67-52, second in the AL Central)

Minneapolis; Wednesday, 1:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Cole Ragans (9-7, 3.27 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 166 strikeouts); Twins: Louie Varland (0-0)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Royals -112, Twins -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Minnesota Twins will look to sweep a three-game series with a win over the Kansas City Royals.

Minnesota is 36-23 in home games and 67-52 overall. The Twins are 49-19 in games when they record eight or more hits.

Kansas City has gone 27-30 in road games and 65-55 overall. The Royals have hit 130 total home runs to rank ninth in the AL.

The matchup Wednesday is the 10th time these teams meet this season. The Twins hold a 7-2 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Willi Castro has 27 doubles, five triples, nine home runs and 44 RBI while hitting .259 for the Twins. Matt Wallner is 12-for-35 with five doubles, a triple and two home runs over the last 10 games.

Salvador Perez has 20 doubles, 22 home runs and 79 RBI for the Royals. Bobby Witt Jr. is 13-for-41 with two doubles, a triple and three home runs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 6-4, .271 batting average, 3.99 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs

Royals: 4-6, .261 batting average, 5.25 ERA, outscored by seven runs

INJURIES: Twins: Byron Buxton: day-to-day (hip), Joe Ryan: 15-Day IL (tricep), Brooks Lee: 10-Day IL (biceps), Brock Stewart: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alex Kirilloff: 60-Day IL (back), Kody Funderburk: 15-Day IL (oblique), Carlos Correa: 10-Day IL (foot), Chris Paddack: 15-Day IL (forearm), Justin Topa: 60-Day IL (knee), Daniel Duarte: 60-Day IL (tricep), Anthony DeSclafani: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Royals: Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (back), John Schreiber: 15-Day IL (knee), Dan Altavilla: 60-Day IL (oblique), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (biceps), Kyle Wright: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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