Max Scherzer set to make season debut with Rangers
Max Scherzer set to make season debut with Rangers (Credit: )

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Kansas City Royals (42-36, third in the AL Central) vs. Texas Rangers (36-40, third in the AL West) Arlington, Texas; Sunday, 2:35 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Alec Marsh (5-4, 4.37 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 65 strikeouts); Rangers: Max Scherzer (0-0) : LINE Rangers -152, Royals +129; over/under is 8 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Texas Rangers, on a three-game home winning streak, host the Kansas City Royals. Texas has gone 19-19 in home games and 36-40 overall. Rangers hitters are batting a collective .237, which ranks eighth in the AL. Kansas City has a 42-36 record overall and a 17-22 record in road games. Royals hitters have a collective .308 on-base percentage, the eighth-ranked percentage in the AL. The matchup Sunday is the sixth time these teams match up this season. The Rangers have a 4-1 advantage in the season series. TOP PERFORMERS: Marcus Semien has 15 doubles, a triple and 11 home runs while hitting .252 for the Rangers. Wyatt Langford is 13-for-36 with three doubles and two home runs over the past 10 games. Bobby Witt Jr. has 12 home runs, 24 walks and 53 RBI while hitting .314 for the Royals. Kyle Isbel is 10-for-31 with two triples, a home run and two RBI over the last 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Rangers: 5-5, .211 batting average, 4.45 ERA, outscored by six runs Royals: 3-7, .203 batting average, 4.93 ERA, outscored by 19 runs INJURIES: Rangers: Evan Carter: 10-Day IL (lumbar), Cody Bradford: 60-Day IL (back), Austin Pruitt: 60-Day IL (knee), Max Scherzer: 60-Day IL (back), Josh Sborz: 15-Day IL (rotator cuff), Justin Foscue: 60-Day IL (oblique strain), Joshua Jung: 60-Day IL (wrist), Tyler Mahle: 60-Day IL (elbow), Jacob deGrom: 60-Day IL (elbow), Carson Coleman: 60-Day IL (elbow) Royals: Kyle Isbel: day-to-day (back), Dan Altavilla: 10-Day IL (oblique), Michael Massey: 10-Day IL (back), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (biceps), Kris Bubic: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kyle Wright: 60-Day IL (shoulder) ------ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.