Guardians meet the Royals with 2-1 series lead

Kansas City Royals (74-72, third in the AL Central) vs. Cleveland Guardians (74-71, second in the AL Central)

Cleveland; Thursday, 7:15 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Stephen Kolek (5-5, 3.88 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 63 strikeouts); Guardians: Gavin Williams (10-5, 3.17 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 146 strikeouts)

BOTTOM LINE: The Cleveland Guardians face the Kansas City Royals, leading the series 2-1.

Cleveland has a 37-34 record in home games and a 74-71 record overall. The Guardians have gone 45-23 in games when they record eight or more hits.

Kansas City has a 34-37 record on the road and a 74-72 record overall. The Royals are 48-15 in games when they have more hits than their opponents.

Thursday's game is the 13th meeting between these teams this season. The Guardians have a 7-5 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Ramirez has 29 doubles, three triples and 28 home runs while hitting .287 for the Guardians. Kyle Manzardo is 10 for 34 with a double and four home runs over the last 10 games.

Bobby Witt Jr. has 41 doubles, five triples, 21 home runs and 77 RBIs for the Royals. Salvador Perez is 5 for 37 with two doubles, two home runs and four RBIs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Guardians: 6-4, .264 batting average, 3.21 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs

Royals: 4-6, .195 batting average, 3.99 ERA, outscored by 12 runs

INJURIES: Guardians: Nic Enright: 15-Day IL (elbow), Lane Thomas: 10-Day IL (foot), Will Brennan: 60-Day IL (forearm), Andrew Walters: 60-Day IL (lat), Ben Lively: 60-Day IL (forearm), John Means: 60-Day IL (elbow), Sam Hentges: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

Royals: Michael Wacha: 7-Day IL (concussion), Seth Lugo: 15-Day IL (back), Bailey Falter: 15-Day IL (biceps), Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (abductor), Steven Cruz: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Kris Bubic: 60-Day IL (rotator cuff), Cole Ragans: 60-Day IL (rotator cuff), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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