Minnesota Twins

Twins take on the Royals following Gibson's strong showing

Published Jun. 15, 2019 4:23 a.m. ET

Kansas City Royals (22-47, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Minnesota Twins (46-22, first in the AL Central)

Minneapolis; Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Glenn Sparkman (1-2, 3.58 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 21 strikeouts) Twins: Jake Odorizzi (9-2, 1.92 ERA, .97 WHIP, 78 strikeouts)

LINE: Royals favored by 1 1/2 runs; over/under is 9 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: Minnesota heads into the matchup after a dominant performance by Kyle Gibson. Gibson pitched eight innings, surrendering zero runs on two hits with six strikeouts against Kansas City.

The Twins are 15-6 against AL Central teams. Minnesota leads the American League in hitting with a .274 batting average, Jorge Polanco leads the club with an average of .335.

The Royals are 10-17 against AL Central Division teams.

TOP PERFORMERS: Eddie Rosario leads the Twins with 19 home runs and is batting .263. Nelson Cruz is 11-for-32 with five home runs and nine RBIs over the last 10 games for Minnesota.

Jorge Soler leads the Royals with 34 extra base hits and is batting .243. Cheslor Cuthbert is 10-for-32 with a double, two home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.

LAST 10 GAMES: Twins: 6-4, .267 batting average, 4.40 ERA, outscored opponents by eight runs

Royals: 2-8, .218 batting average, 4.40 ERA, outscored by 24 runs

Twins Injuries: Adalberto Mejia: 10-day IL (calf), Byron Buxton: day-to-day (wrist).

Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Hunter Dozier: 10-day IL (chest), Salvador Perez: 60-day IL (elbow).