Royals play the Guardians looking to end road slide

Updated Oct. 1, 2022 3:01 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Kansas City Royals (63-93, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Cleveland Guardians (89-68, first in the AL Central)

Cleveland; Saturday, 6:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Kris Bubic (2-13, 5.81 ERA, 1.72 WHIP, 102 strikeouts); Guardians: Zach Plesac (0-0)

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Guardians -199, Royals +167; over/under is 7 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals hit the road against the Cleveland Guardians looking to stop a five-game road slide.

Cleveland has an 89-68 record overall and a 43-33 record at home. The Guardians have the sixth-best team ERA in the majors at 3.47.

Kansas City is 63-93 overall and 24-51 in road games. The Royals have a 26-66 record in games when they have given up a home run.

The matchup Saturday is the 15th time these teams square off this season. The Guardians have a 9-5 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Jose Ramirez has 29 home runs, 68 walks and 122 RBI while hitting .272 for the Guardians. Steven Kwan is 19-for-45 with a double, a triple, two home runs and 11 RBI over the past 10 games.

Bobby Witt Jr. has a .256 batting average to rank second on the Royals, and has 31 doubles, six triples and 20 home runs. Vinnie Pasquantino is 14-for-36 with a home run and five RBI over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Guardians: 9-1, .249 batting average, 2.27 ERA, outscored opponents by 26 runs

Royals: 5-5, .281 batting average, 4.66 ERA, outscored by one run

INJURIES: Guardians: Zach Plesac: 15-Day IL (hand), Anthony Gose: 60-Day IL (tricep)

Royals: Josh Staumont: 15-Day IL (biceps), Angel Zerpa: 60-Day IL (knee), Jake Brentz: 60-Day IL (flexor), Adalberto Mondesi: 60-Day IL (knee), Tyler Zuber: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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