Twins visit the Royals to begin 3-game series

Minnesota Twins (76-64, second in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (76-65, third in the AL Central)

Kansas City, Missouri; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Zebby Matthews (1-2, 7.41 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 18 strikeouts); Royals: Cole Ragans (10-9, 3.46 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 197 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Royals -147, Twins +123; over/under is 8 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals host the Minnesota Twins to open a three-game series.

Kansas City has a 76-65 record overall and a 42-30 record at home. The Royals have a 55-29 record in games when they record at least eight hits.

Minnesota has a 37-34 record on the road and a 76-64 record overall. The Twins have a 32-15 record in games when they hit two or more home runs.

The matchup Friday is the 11th time these teams match up this season. The Twins hold a 7-3 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bobby Witt Jr. has 40 doubles, 11 triples and 30 home runs for the Royals. Maikel Garcia is 9-for-29 with three doubles and four RBI over the last 10 games.

Carlos Santana has 24 doubles and 20 home runs while hitting .238 for the Twins. Kyle Farmer is 4-for-17 with two home runs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 3-7, .215 batting average, 4.54 ERA, outscored by nine runs

Twins: 4-6, .232 batting average, 5.87 ERA, outscored by 26 runs

INJURIES: Royals: Yuli Gurriel: day-to-day (hamstring), Vinnie Pasquantino: 10-Day IL (thumb), Lucas Erceg: day-to-day (hand), Michael Lorenzen: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Will Smith: 15-Day IL (back), Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (back), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (biceps), Kyle Wright: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Twins: Max Kepler: 10-Day IL (knee), Kody Funderburk: 60-Day IL (oblique), Manuel Margot: 10-Day IL (groin), Chris Paddack: 60-Day IL (forearm), Joe Ryan: 60-Day IL (tricep), Byron Buxton: 10-Day IL (hip), Brock Stewart: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alex Kirilloff: 60-Day IL (back), Carlos Correa: 10-Day IL (foot), Justin Topa: 60-Day IL (knee), Daniel Duarte: 60-Day IL (tricep), Anthony DeSclafani: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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