Twins-Royals series preview: Pitching matchups, injury report, TV-radio information

THREE-GAME SERIES AT KAUFFMAN STADIUM

All games on 830-AM and 102.9-FM

Friday, 6:40 p.m, Twins.TV: RHP Pablo López (5-3, 2.82 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Wacha (8-11, 3.52)

Saturday, 6:15 p.m., Twins.TV, Ch. 9: RHP Joe Ryan (13-7, 3.08) vs. . RHP Stephen Kolek (4-5, 3.99)

Sunday, 1:10 p.m., Twins.TV: Bailey Ober (4-7, 5.23 ERA) vs. RHP Michael Lorenzen (5-9, 4.54)

TWINS UPDATE

The Twins (62-78) start a six-game road trip after being swept in a four-game series by the Chicago White Sox at Target Field. They were outscored 33-19 in the series, the sixth time this season they have been swept in a series.

OF Trevor Larnach has reached base safely in a career-high 15 straight games. Larnach went 3-for-5 on Thursday and is hitting .375 (21-for-56) in the streak. ... Rookie 2B Luke Keaschall leads the team with a .328 batting average after his first career four-hit game on Thursday.

López (right teres major strain) returns after being injured on June 3; the Twins had a winning record when that happened. ... RHP David Festa (right shoulder inflammation), C Christian Vazquez (left shoulder infection), LHP Anthony Misiewicz (left pectoral strain) and OF Alan Roden (left thumb sprain) are out.

KANSAS CITY UPDATE

The Royals (71-69) are two games behind in the AL wild card race. They close out a nine-game homestand against the Twins after rallying for a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday. It was their 32nd comeback victory of the season and was their 82nd consecutive win — dating to Aug. 3, 2024 — when leading after eight innings. Only the Detroit Tigers (with 98 consecutive wins when leading after eight) have a longer active streak. ... The Royals are 21-17 in one-run games and 38-34 at home this season.

SS Bobby Witt Jr. is hitting .295 and is second in the A.L. with 160 hits. He hit his 21st home run on Thursday and has 77 RBI. He is fourth in the AL with 34 stolen bases. He is the first player in MLB history to have at least 20 home runs and 30 stolen bases in each of his first four MLB seasons. ... C Salvador Perez hit his 297th career home run on Thursday. He is three home runs shy of becoming the eighth primary catcher in MLB history to hit 300 home runs. He is six RBIs shy of becoming the 10th active player with 1,000 career RBI.