Oakland Athletics (6-26, fifth in the AL West) vs. Kansas City Royals (8-24, fifth in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Missouri; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Athletics: Kyle Muller (0-2, 6.28 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 20 strikeouts); Royals: Brad Keller (2-2, 3.56 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 24 strikeouts)
: Royals -151, Athletics +129; over/under is 9 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals host the Oakland Athletics on Friday to start a three-game series.
Kansas City has a 2-14 record at home and an 8-24 record overall. The Royals have the ninth-ranked team batting average in the AL at .231.
Oakland has a 3-11 record in road games and a 6-26 record overall. Athletics hitters have a collective .303 on-base percentage, the 10th-ranked percentage in the AL.
Friday's game is the first time these teams match up this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Vinnie Pasquantino has a .288 batting average to lead the Royals, and has 11 doubles and six home runs. Salvador Perez is 13-for-37 with four home runs and 11 RBI over the last 10 games.
Esteury Ruiz has a .265 batting average to lead the Athletics, and has seven doubles and a triple. Brent Rooker is 11-for-35 with five home runs and 11 RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 3-7, .273 batting average, 6.04 ERA, outscored by 14 runs
Athletics: 2-8, .228 batting average, 6.07 ERA, outscored by 22 runs
INJURIES: Royals: Kyle Isbel: day-to-day (hamstring), Kris Bubic: 60-Day IL (flexor), Nicky Lopez: 10-Day IL (appendicitis), Diego Hernandez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Drew Waters: 10-Day IL (oblique), Daniel Lynch: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Jake Brentz: 60-Day IL (elbow), Angel Zerpa: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Athletics: Aledmys Diaz: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Adrian Martinez: 15-Day IL (elbow), Dany Jimenez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Trevor May: 15-Day IL (personal), Freddy Tarnok: 60-Day IL (undisclosed), Seth Brown: 10-Day IL (oblique), Paul Blackburn: 15-Day IL (finger), Manny Pina: 10-Day IL (wrist), Kirby Snead: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
