Kansas City Royals (14-15, third in the AL Central) vs. Tampa Bay Rays (14-14, third in the AL East)
Tampa, Florida; Tuesday, 7:05 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Michael Lorenzen (2-3, 3.90 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 24 strikeouts); Rays: Taj Bradley (2-1, 5.08 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 27 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Rays -156, Royals +131; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Rays host the Kansas City Royals to start a three-game series.
Tampa Bay has gone 9-10 at home and 14-14 overall. The Rays have the fifth-ranked team ERA in the AL at 3.46.
Kansas City has a 3-10 record on the road and a 14-15 record overall. The Royals have the fourth-ranked team ERA in the AL at 3.40.
The matchup Tuesday is the first meeting this season between the two clubs.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jonathan Aranda has eight doubles and four home runs for the Rays. Jake Mangum is 12-for-30 with two doubles over the last 10 games.
Maikel Garcia has seven doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI while hitting .274 for the Royals. Bobby Witt Jr. is 13-for-40 with five doubles over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Rays: 6-4, .230 batting average, 3.48 ERA, even run differential
Royals: 6-4, .259 batting average, 3.50 ERA, outscored by two runs
INJURIES: Rays: Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (tricep), Jake Mangum: 10-Day IL (groin), Jonny Deluca: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Richard Palacios: 10-Day IL (knee), Alex Faedo: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Kevin Kelly: 15-Day IL (glute), Josh Lowe: 10-Day IL (oblique), Ha-Seong Kim: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Nathan Lavender: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Royals: Cole Ragans: day-to-day (groin), Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Sam Long: 15-Day IL (elbow), Dairon Blanco: 10-Day IL (achilles), Kyle Wright: 15-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 15-Day IL (elbow), Alec Marsh: 15-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
