Minnesota Twins (22-33, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (27-26, third in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Kansas; Thursday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Twins: J.A. Happ (3-2, 5.25 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 35 strikeouts) Royals: Kris Bubic (1-0, 1.52 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 22 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: Kansas City and Minnesota will face off on Thursday.
The Royals are 13-18 against AL Central opponents. The Kansas City offense has compiled a .242 batting average as a team this season, good for eighth in the majors. Andrew Benintendi leads the team with a mark of .297.
The Twins have gone 10-13 against division opponents. Minnesota has slugged .421, good for fourth in the MLB. Nelson Cruz leads the club with a .500 slugging percentage, including 17 extra-base hits and 10 home runs.
The Royals won the last meeting 6-3. Brad Keller earned his fifth victory and Hunter Dozier went 1-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs for Kansas City. Matt Shoemaker took his sixth loss for Minnesota.
TOP PERFORMERS: Salvador Perez leads the Royals with 12 home runs and has 36 RBIs.
Cruz leads the Twins with 46 hits and is batting .274.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 7-3, .271 batting average, 3.46 ERA, outscored opponents by 14 runs
Twins: 6-4, .230 batting average, 4.50 ERA
INJURIES: Royals: Daniel Tillo: (undisclosed), Josh Staumont: (knee), Jesse Hahn: (shoulder), Danny Duffy: (forearm), Jorge Soler: (groin), Adalberto Mondesi: (hamstring).
Twins: Devin Smeltzer: (elbow), Kenta Maeda: (groin), Edwar Colina: (right elbow), Rob Refsnyder: (concussion), Max Kepler: (hamstring), Jake Cave: (back), Byron Buxton: (hip), Luis Arraez: (shoulder), Mitch Garver: (groin).