:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/photo_images/7084783/145134870.jpg)
Right after the All-Star Break, the Royals and Twins looked to be trending in different directions. The Twins were on an upward swing that had them sniffing the Wild Card and the Royals were floundering. Fast forward to late August and the roles have been reversed. Kansas City is suddenly 18-11 since July 31 and coming off a three-game sweep of the Detroit Tigers while the Twins are miserably at the bottom of the AL Central.
Now the Royals will host the Twins for a three-game set over the weekend with the Royals riding on the momentum of three straight wins.
Game one of the series will pit Will Smith (4-6, 5.55 ERA) against Cole De Vries (3-5, 4.68) in a battle of a rookie left-hander verses a rookie right-hander.
The game will be at Kauffman Stadium at 7:10 p.m. CT.
For more in-depth coverage of this series, check out Royals blog Royals Review and Twins blog Twinkie Town. For more news, notes and analysis from around baseball, visit Baseball Nation.