Chicago @ Kansas City preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 9, 2011 ) Kansas City 13, Chi. Cubs 4

THE STORY: By all rights, the Chicago Cubs are having a difficult June. Mike Quade's club has lost four of five and 14 of 21 in the month to fall 10 games off the pace in the National League Central. While troublesome to be certain, the plight of the Cubs wouldn't cause members of the Kansas City Royals to bat an eye. After all, Kansas City has dropped five in a row and 27 of 38 to fall into the basement of the American League. The struggling teams will meet for the first time in over 10 years at Kauffman Stadium on Friday for the opener of a three-game set.

TV: 8:10 ET, WGN (Chicago), FSKC (Kansas City)

PITCHING MATCHUP: Cubs RH Ryan Dempster (5-6, 5.46 ERA) vs. Royals LH Bruce Chen (4-1, 3.59 ERA)

Dempster struggled in his last outing, issuing a season-high six walks in 5 1/3 innings to take the loss in a 4-3 setback to the New York Yankees on Saturday. The 34-year-old British Columbia native won his lone career start against the Royals, but hardly looked impressive in doing so. He allowed four runs and yielded five walks in six innings, but picked up the victory nonetheless.

Chen is expected to return from the disabled list following a strained left lat. The 34-year-old Panama native fared well in a pair of starts for Triple-A Omaha last week and will be activated prior to the contest. Chen hasn't pitched for the Royals since May 5, when he yielded just one run on five hits in seven innings in a victory over the Baltimore Orioles. Chen has made four career starts against the Cubs - but none since 2001 when he was a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.

ABOUT THE CUBS (30-44): All is not gloom and doom in the Windy City. Starlin Castro is batting .500 (14-for-28) during his seven-game hitting streak and went 2-for-4 in all three games against the Chicago White Sox. Not to be outdone, Carlos Pena has homered in three straight contests and five of his last seven. While Castro and Pena have been hot, Geovany Soto has been ice cold. He is batting just .197 with a pair of homers and three RBIs in 19 games since returning from the disabled list. Quade has been creative with his choice of the designated hitter during interleague series this season. Alfonso Soriano, Jeff Baker and Aramis Ramirez have all played the part, but Quade isn't divulging who will get the nod against Kansas City.

ABOUT THE ROYALS (31-44): Felipe Paulino matched a season-high with eight-plus innings, but Kansas City dropped a 5-3 decision on Thursday to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Rookie Eric Hosmer has cooled down considerably after a hot start. He went 0-for-4 on Thursday and is just 6-for-43 in his last 11 games. While Melky Cabrera also went 0-for-4, he has hit safely in all but three games in June. Cabrera is just 1-for-6 in his career against Dempster.

FINAL PITCH: While Cabrera didn't get it done with the bat on Thursday, he did record his eighth assist after throwing out Kelly Johnson at the plate. Kansas City outfielders lead the majors with 25 assists this season.