BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Royals -148, Cubs +124; over/under is 9 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals host the Chicago Cubs to begin a three-game series.
Kansas City has gone 35-20 at home and 56-47 overall. Royals pitchers have a collective 3.76 ERA, which ranks ninth in MLB play.
Chicago has a 49-55 record overall and a 22-30 record in road games. The Cubs are 37-20 in games when they record eight or more hits.
The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Salvador Perez leads Kansas City with 18 home runs while slugging .469. Bobby Witt Jr. is 21-for-39 with three home runs and nine RBI over the last 10 games.
Christopher Morel leads Chicago with 18 home runs while slugging .375. Seiya Suzuki is 10-for-38 with two home runs and five RBI over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 6-4, .290 batting average, 3.48 ERA, outscored opponents by 16 runs
RELATED COVERAGE
Gabriel Moreno hits go-ahead double in 5-run 9th inning, the Diamondbacks beat the Royals 8-6Jordan Montgomery returns from injured list and pitches Diamondbacks over Royals 6-2Bobby Witt Jr. homers, triples and doubles in the Royals' 10-4 win over the Diamondbacks
Cubs: 4-6, .237 batting average, 2.73 ERA, outscored by five runs
INJURIES: Royals: MJ Melendez: 10-Day IL (ankle), Dan Altavilla: 60-Day IL (oblique), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (biceps), Kyle Wright: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Cubs: Luke Little: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hayden Wesneski: 15-Day IL (forearm), Jordan Wicks: 60-Day IL (oblique), Cody Bellinger: 10-Day IL (finger), Colten Brewer: 60-Day IL (hand), Keegan Thompson: 15-Day IL (rib), Yency Almonte: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ben Brown: 15-Day IL (neck), Adbert Alzolay: 60-Day IL (forearm), Caleb Kilian: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.