Kansas City @ Cincinnati preview

Last Meeting ( Aug 18, 2015 ) Kansas City 3, Cincinnati 1

The Kansas City Royals won’t have a problem keeping up their intensity level over the last six weeks of the regular season if they keep coming back in the ninth inning every night. The Royals will try to earn a two-game interleague sweep of the host Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday after a stunning win in the opener.

Kansas City pushed across the tying run in the ninth against the Los Angeles Angels and won in the 10th to close out its homestand on Sunday and got to Cincinnati closer Aroldis Chapman with Ben Zobrist’s tying home run before winning in the 13th Tuesday. The Royals own a 13-game lead in the American League Central and are winners of four straight and nine of 11 as they try to keep the momentum high through the stretch. The Reds have dropped four straight and 10 of 13 but remain two games ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers in the race to avoid last place in the NL Central. Cincinnati will try to split the series behind rookie Keyvius Sampson while Kansas City counters with veteran Jeremy Guthrie.

TV: 7:10 p.m. ET, FSN Kansas City, FSN Ohio (Cincinnati)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Royals RH Jeremy Guthrie (8-7, 5.63 ERA) vs. Reds RH Keyvius Sampson (2-1, 3.18)

Guthrie is still hanging onto a spot in the Kansas City rotation and posted his best start of the second half Thursday, when he held the Los Angeles Angels to one run on two hits and three walks in six innings of a no-decision. The Stanford product had been knocked around for a total of 18 runs (17 earned) and 31 hits in 18 innings over his three previous outings. Guthrie’s best start of the season came against Cincinnati on May 20, when he scattered five hits over six scoreless innings to earn a win.

Sampson picked up his second straight win on Thursday, holding the Los Angeles Dodgers to two runs and five hits in five innings. The 24-year-old rookie is making his fourth major-league start and held opponents to three runs or fewer in each of his first three turns. Sampson is facing his first AL opponent and looking for his first home win.

WALK-OFFS

1. Royals 2B Omar Infante (back spasms) sat out the opener and is day-to-day.

2. Chapman’s streak of 56 straight saves converted at home came to an end Tuesday.

3. Seven Kansas City relievers combined to allow one hit and strikeout nine in seven scoreless innings.

PREDICTION: Reds 5, Royals 3