Tonight’s game at Minnesota will mark the 20th game of the season for the Kansas City Royals. One-third of this “it’s a sprint, not a marathon” season is completed and with a victory tonight over the first place Minnesota Twins, the Royals have an opportunity to pull within three games of first place.
KC has won five of its last six games, including a three-game sweep of Minnesota last weekend at Kauffman Stadium. The Royals are 8-and-11 on the year, four games behind the Twins. Jake Junis is will start for Kansas City, while Minnesota sends former Royal Jake Odorizzi to the mound.
The Royals are in a stretch of 14 games where they are facing the Twins ten times. This is the only chance Kansas City will have to directly chase down the division favorites. After the final matchup with Minnesota on August 23rd, back in Kansas City, the Royals will play 32 games to close out the season.