Los Angeles @ Kansas City preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 15, 2015 ) LA Angels 4, Kansas City 9

While the first-place Royals have all but locked up their first American League Central title since 1985, the Los Angeles Angels continue to fight for their playoff lives as they try to salvage a four-game series split on Sunday in Kansas City. After an unlikely rally against the vaunted Royals' bullpen in the series opener, Los Angeles dropped the next two, including a 9-4 loss on Saturday which trimmed its lead over Baltimore for the second wild-card spot to one-half game.

The Angels, who are 2 1/2 games behind first-place Houston in the AL West, fell to 1-5 on their seven-game road trip and have scored 16 runs during that span. Kansas City has no such issues as it sits 12 games ahead of Minnesota in the Central and has scored 48 runs while going 7-2 in the first nine contests of its 10-game homestand. Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer has driven in a run in nine consecutive games - the longest active streak in the majors - and leads baseball in average (.395) and runs scored (27) since the All-Star break. Kansas City's Yordano Ventura won his last outing despite tying a career high with six walks as he opposes Hector Santiago, who is winless in four starts (0-2).

TV: 8:08 p.m. ET, ESPN

PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals LH Hector Santiago (7-6, 2.87 ERA) vs. Royals RH Yordano Ventura (7-7, 4.97)

Santiago allowed three runs in 5 1/3 innings of a 3-0 loss to the White Sox in Chicago on Tuesday and has permitted three or more runs in four consecutive appearances after doing so once in his previous eight turns. The 27-year-old New Jersey native could be starting to wear down as the former reliever has pitched 134 2/3 innings this season - 14 1/3 shy of his career high - and hasn't worked more than six frames in five straight outings. Santiago is 1-1 with a 1.53 ERA in 11 games (1-1, 1.93 in five starts) against Kansas City, including a 4-2 loss on April 10.

Ventura overcame his bout with wildness by allowing two hits and matching a season high with eight strikeouts in six scoreless innings of a 6-1 victory over Detroit on Tuesday. "(He) stayed calm and continued to make pitches all night. He wasn't crazy-wild. He was just missing,'' Royals manager Ned Yost told reporters about the 24-year-old Dominican. "He was aggressively into the game. You could tell by his body language. He was the old Ventura of last year - he had all the confidence that, 'Hey, you can get a couple guys on, but that's as far as it's going to go.'" Ventura is 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA in two starts against Los Angeles, including a 5-2 victory on April 12.

WALK-OFFS

1. Angels SS Erick Aybar (back) missed the first three games of the series but could play in the finale after fielding grounders Saturday.

2. Kansas City is 18-5 in its last 23 games at Kauffman Stadium and leads the AL with 41 victories at home.

3. Los Angeles 1B Albert Pujols on Saturday hit his 31st home run to end a season-high 14-game drought.

PREDICTION: Royals 3, Angels 2