Tampa Bay Rays (45-35, second in the AL East) vs. Kansas City Royals (38-42, third in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Missouri; Thursday, 2:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Shane Baz (7-3, 4.79 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 77 strikeouts); Royals: Michael Lorenzen (4-7, 4.81 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 69 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Rays -127, Royals +107; over/under is 10 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Tampa Bay Rays will try to keep a five-game road win streak alive when they visit the Kansas City Royals.
Kansas City is 19-21 in home games and 38-42 overall. The Royals have a 13-33 record in games when they have given up a home run.
Tampa Bay has gone 18-12 on the road and 45-35 overall. The Rays have the sixth-ranked team ERA in the AL at 3.52.
The teams square off Thursday for the sixth time this season. The Royals are ahead 3-2 in the season series.
TOP PERFORMERS: Maikel Garcia has a .310 batting average to lead the Royals, and has 20 doubles, three triples and eight home runs. Bobby Witt Jr. is 12 for 39 with two home runs and three RBIs over the last 10 games.
Brandon Lowe has 10 doubles and 15 home runs for the Rays. Junior Caminero is 14 for 39 with two doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 4-6, .191 batting average, 3.17 ERA, outscored by five runs
Rays: 7-3, .319 batting average, 3.60 ERA, outscored opponents by 24 runs
INJURIES: Royals: Cole Ragans: 15-Day IL (rotator cuff), Michael Massey: 10-Day IL (ankle), Hunter Harvey: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Rays: Manuel Rodriguez: 15-Day IL (forearm), Jonny Deluca: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ha-Seong Kim: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hunter Bigge: 15-Day IL (lat), Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (tricep), Richie Palacios: 10-Day IL (knee), Alex Faedo: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nathan Lavender: 60-Day IL (elbow)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press