Royals face the Angels leading series 1-0

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Kansas City Royals (79-78, third in the AL Central) vs. Los Angeles Angels (70-87, fifth in the AL West)

Anaheim, California; Wednesday, 9:38 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Stephen Kolek (5-6, 3.54 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 75 strikeouts); Angels: Yusei Kikuchi (6-11, 4.05 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 168 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Angels -123, Royals +103; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals take a 1-0 advantage into the next game of the series against the Los Angeles Angels.

Los Angeles has gone 37-39 in home games and 70-87 overall. The Angels are 44-29 in games when they record eight or more hits.

Kansas City has a 36-40 record in road games and a 79-78 record overall. Royals hitters have a collective .309 on-base percentage, the 10th-ranked percentage in the AL.

The teams square off Wednesday for the fifth time this season. The season series is tied 2-2.

TOP PERFORMERS: Nolan Schanuel has a .268 batting average to lead the Angels, and has 23 doubles, a triple and 11 home runs. Taylor Ward is 10 for 39 with five home runs and five RBIs over the past 10 games.

Bobby Witt Jr. has 44 doubles, six triples, 23 home runs and 84 RBIs for the Royals. Salvador Perez is 13 for 38 with five home runs and 16 RBIs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Angels: 1-9, .176 batting average, 6.26 ERA, outscored by 33 runs

Royals: 5-5, .308 batting average, 5.11 ERA, outscored opponents by 13 runs

INJURIES: Angels: Robert Stephenson: 15-Day IL (elbow), Jose Soriano: 15-Day IL (ribs), Zach Neto: 10-Day IL (hand), Reid Detmers: 60-Day IL (elbow), Travis d'Arnaud: 7-Day IL (head), Andrew Chafin: 15-Day IL (tricep), Jorge Soler: 60-Day IL (back), Victor Mederos: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Carson Fulmer: 60-Day IL (elbow), Gustavo Campero: 60-Day IL (ankle), Tyler Anderson: 15-Day IL (oblique), Hunter Strickland: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Ben Joyce: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Anthony Rendon: 60-Day IL (hip)

Royals: Lucas Erceg: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Ryan Bergert: 15-Day IL (elbow), Kyle Isbel: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Seth Lugo: 15-Day IL (back), Bailey Falter: 15-Day IL (biceps), Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (abductor), Kris Bubic: 60-Day IL (rotator cuff), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.