Cubs visit the Royals to start 3-game series

Chicago Cubs (49-55, fifth in the NL Central) vs. Kansas City Royals (56-47, third in the AL Central)

Kansas City, Missouri; Friday, 8:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Cubs: Kyle Hendricks (2-8, 6.69 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 52 strikeouts); Royals: Brady Singer (6-6, 3.00 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 106 strikeouts)

: 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

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.