Orioles begin 3-game series with the Royals

Kansas City Royals (17-15, third in the AL Central) vs. Baltimore Orioles (12-18, fifth in the AL East)

Baltimore; Friday, 7:05 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Michael Wacha (1-3, 3.38 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 26 strikeouts); Orioles: Dean Kremer (2-4, 7.04 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 20 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Orioles -134, Royals +113; over/under is 9 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Baltimore Orioles host the Kansas City Royals to start a three-game series.

Baltimore has a 12-18 record overall and a 7-7 record in home games. The Orioles are 6-3 in games when they out-hit their opponents.

Kansas City is 6-10 on the road and 17-15 overall. The Royals have gone 5-2 in games decided by one run.

The matchup Friday is the fourth meeting between these teams this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Cedric Mullins leads the Orioles with six home runs while slugging .515. Ryan O’Hearn is 10-for-32 with four home runs and 10 RBI over the past 10 games.

Maikel Garcia has nine doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI while hitting .296 for the Royals. Drew Waters is 14-for-37 with two doubles, two triples and a home run over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Orioles: 3-7, .202 batting average, 7.52 ERA, outscored by 51 runs

Royals: 9-1, .288 batting average, 2.13 ERA, outscored opponents by 20 runs

INJURIES: Orioles: Grayson Rodriguez: 60-Day IL (elbow), Colton Cowser: 60-Day IL (thumb), Jordan Westburg: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Gary Sanchez: 10-Day IL (wrist), Tyler O’Neill: 10-Day IL (neck), Cody Poteet: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Zachary Eflin: 15-Day IL (lat), Albert Suarez: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Chayce McDermott: 15-Day IL (lat), Trevor Rogers: 15-Day IL (knee), Andrew Kittredge: 15-Day IL (knee), Tyler Wells: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kyle Bradish: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Royals: Salvador Perez: day-to-day (hip), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow), 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), 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.