Keys to the series, game times as Kansas City Royals continue road swing against Twins
The Kansas City Royals begin a three-game series Friday night in Minneapolis, their second road series against the Twins this season.
The Royals (23-25) are coming off a loss in the rubber match of their three-game set Thursday against the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg.
The Twins (20-29) won two of three games against the Royals in their first meeting of the season. The last game of that series started an 11-game losing streak for the Royals.
The Twins enter this series having won four in a row.
Series rundown
SCHEDULE: Friday, 7:10 p.m.; Saturday, 1:10 p.m.; Sunday, 1:10 p.m.
PLACE: Target Field, Minneapolis
PITCHING PROBABLES: Friday, KC LHP Kris Bubic (0-0, 1.52) vs. MIN RHP Randy Dobnak (1-3, 5.75); Saturday, KC TBA vs. MIN LHP J.A. Happ (2-2, 5.44); Sunday, KC RHP Brad Keller (4-4, 5.72 vs. MIN RHP Matt Shoemaker (2-5, 5.48).
TV: All three games will be broadcast by Bally Sports Kansas City.
RADIO: All three games will air on KCSP Radio (610 AM).
NOTABLE: The Royals loss on Thursday marked the first time since May 9 (against the White Sox) that they lost by more than two runs. They had played eight consecutive games decided by a margin of two runs or fewer. … Since the beginning of 2017, the Twins are 26-9 against the Royals at Target Field.
Keys to the series
The Royals still haven’t announced a starting pitcher for Saturday’s game. Because of scheduled days off, they’ve used a four-man pitching rotation since Danny Duffy went on the injured list May 17. Jakob Junis pitched 2 1/3 innings of relief on Thursday. Ervin Santana, a veteran pitcher, also pitched in relief. However, Santana pitched just one inning and threw fewer than 20 pitches.
Royals catcher Salvador Perez set the record for most home runs by a visiting player at Target Field (18) earlier this season. He enters this series leading all major-league catchers in RBIs (28), doubles (10, tied with two others), slugging percentage among qualifying catchers (.473) and tied for second in home runs (nine).
The Twins exploded offensively in two of the games against the Royals in their earlier series. They scored nine runs in the opener and 13 runs in the series finale. Rookie slugger Alex Kirilloff hit four home runs during that series.
The Twins are without start center fielder Byron Buxton, who is on the injured list after a torrid offensive start to the season. He last played on May 6. He has been sidelined by a hip injury. He slashed .370/.408/.772 prior to going on the IL.
