The Twins will arrive at Kauffman Stadium on Sunday trying to avoid being swept in this four-game series. Usually, it doesn't happen very often. So I looked up the last time the Twins have been swept in a four-game series at Kauffman Stadium.

It was Aug. 18-21, 2016.

That's not that long ago. That explains a couple of things.

Twins fans get wound up about losing to the Yankees, when a team in it's own division owns them. The Twins are 17-39 at Kauffman Stadium since 2013. They will lose the season series against the Royals, as they are 8-10 against them now. They have lost the season series against Kansas City in five of the last six seasons now.

And this Royals team has played crummy baseball - when they aren't playing the Twins, they are 42-88.

It will be up to Kyle Gibson to be the stopper on Sunday as the Royals send Jakob Junis to the mound.

Zack Littell will not be available tomorrow, for two reasons: He threw 2.2 innings on Saturday and he left the game with a blister on his right index finger.

"It was there before the inning but it wasn't very big," Littell said, "then it just got worse. It wasn't worth making it any more worse."

Littell said he had a blister problem earlier in the season in a different part of the finger and just put a pad over it. This time, he thinks he'll be fine on two or three days.

UPDATES:

Miguel Sano is getting closer. He got some running in before today's game and planned to hit in the indoor cage. He said his leg feels much better, but is still a little sore. But it sounds like he's over a mental hurdle after injuring his leg when he slid into second base in Houston. "When I slid into the bag, I hit the rod," he said. Sano also wants to play third base upon his return to the lineup, which could be in a few days.

Mitch Garver also feels better as he deals with concussion symptoms. Twins manager Paul Molitor now thinks Garver could return to the lineup before the end of the Tigers series.

Twins

Jorge Polanco, SS
Eddie Rosario, DH
Robbie Grossman, LF
Logan Forsythe, 2B
Max Kepler, RF
Ehire Adrianza, 3B
Tyler Austin, 1B
Johnny Field, RF
Chris Gimenez, C

Kyle Gibson, RHP

Royals

Whit Merrifield, 2B
Adalberto Mondesi, SS
Alex Gordon, LF
Ryan O'Hearn, 1B
Rosell Herrera, RF
Brian Goodwin, CF
Alcides Escobar, 3B
Brett Phillips, DH
Cam Gallagher, C

Jakob Junis, RHP