Royals play the Twins leading series 1-0

Minnesota Twins (76-65, third in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (77-65, second in the AL Central)

Kansas City, Missouri; Saturday, 7:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: Bailey Ober (12-6, 3.95 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 155 strikeouts); Royals: Alec Marsh (7-8, 4.70 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 100 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Royals -140, Twins +119; over/under is 7 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals bring a 1-0 advantage into the latest game of the series against the Minnesota Twins.

Kansas City has a 77-65 record overall and a 43-30 record in home games. The Royals have the sixth-best team batting average in MLB play at .254.

Minnesota has a 37-35 record in road games and a 76-65 record overall. Twins hitters are batting a collective .251, the 10th-best team batting average in MLB play.

The teams match up Saturday for the 12th time this season. The Twins are ahead 7-4 in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Bobby Witt Jr. has 30 home runs, 47 walks and 97 RBI while hitting .337 for the Royals. Vinnie Pasquantino is 8-for-36 with two doubles, a home run and two RBI over the past 10 games.

Ryan Jeffers ranks fourth on the Twins with 41 extra base hits (21 doubles and 20 home runs). Carlos Santana is 7-for-32 with a double, two home runs and five RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 3-7, .203 batting average, 4.33 ERA, outscored by nine runs

Twins: 4-6, .221 batting average, 5.42 ERA, outscored by 27 runs

INJURIES: Royals: Vinnie Pasquantino: 10-Day IL (thumb), 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.