Mets and Royals square off in series rubber match

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Kansas City Royals (38-55, fifth in the AL Central) vs. New York Mets (39-54, fifth in the NL East)

New York; Thursday, 1:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Michael Wacha (5-6, 3.45 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 91 strikeouts); Mets: Sean Manaea (1-4, 5.16 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 68 strikeouts)

LINE: Mets -151, Royals +124; over/under is 9 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets and Kansas City Royals meet on Thursday with the three-game series tied 1-1.

New York is 20-25 in home games and 39-54 overall. The Mets have a 21-13 record in games when they hit at least two home runs.

Kansas City has a 38-55 record overall and a 17-29 record on the road. The Royals have gone 17-10 in games when they hit two or more home runs.

Thursday's game is the third time these teams meet this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Juan Soto has 20 home runs, 52 walks and 49 RBIs while hitting .295 for the Mets. Carson Benge is 13 for 41 with two doubles, two home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games.

Jac Caglianone leads the Royals with 14 home runs while slugging .455. Tyler Tolbert is 15 for 30 with two home runs and four RBIs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Mets: 4-6, .258 batting average, 6.62 ERA, outscored by 16 runs

Royals: 4-6, .274 batting average, 4.80 ERA, outscored by one run

INJURIES: Mets: Austin Warren: 15-Day IL (forearm), Marcus Semien: 10-Day IL (hip), Justin Hagenman: 60-Day IL (rib), Luis Robert: 60-Day IL (back), Clay Holmes: 60-Day IL (fibula), Reed Garrett: 60-Day IL (elbow), Tylor Megill: 60-Day IL (elbow), Dedniel Nunez: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Royals: Nick Mears: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Maikel Garcia: 10-Day IL (hand), Kyle Isbel: 10-Day IL (foot), Cole Ragans: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kris Bubic: 60-Day IL (elbow), Connor Seabold: 15-Day IL (lat), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow), Carlos Estevez: 60-Day IL (foot), Vinnie Pasquantino: 10-Day IL (hand), Jonathan India: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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