Kansas City Royals (83-74, third in the AL Central) vs. Washington Nationals (69-88, fourth in the NL East)
Washington; Wednesday, 6:45 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Michael Lorenzen (0-0); Nationals: DJ Herz (4-8, 4.30 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 103 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Royals -120, Nationals +100; over/under is 7 1/2 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals take a 1-0 lead into the next game of the series against the Washington Nationals.
Washington has gone 36-40 in home games and 69-88 overall. The Nationals have the 10th-ranked team batting average in the NL at .242.
Kansas City has an 83-74 record overall and a 38-38 record on the road. Royals hitters are batting a collective .250, the seventh-best team batting average in MLB play.
The matchup Wednesday is the second time these teams square off this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Luis Garcia has a .280 batting average to lead the Nationals, and has 25 doubles, a triple and 16 home runs. Jose Tena is 11-for-39 with a home run and three RBI over the past 10 games.
Maikel Garcia has 27 doubles, five triples and seven home runs for the Royals. Bobby Witt Jr. is 13-for-35 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Nationals: 3-7, .218 batting average, 4.18 ERA, outscored by 21 runs
Royals: 3-7, .207 batting average, 3.26 ERA, outscored by eight runs
INJURIES: Nationals: Joan Adon: 60-Day IL (biceps), Alex Call: 10-Day IL (leg), Josiah Gray: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cade Cavalli: 60-Day IL (elbow), Mason Thompson: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Royals: James McArthur: 15-Day IL (elbow), Chris Stratton: 15-Day IL (forearm), 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)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
