The Royals took the series opener, 4-3 to stay hot with four consecutive wins and a 6-1 record over the past seven games. On the other hand, the Rangers have struggled with a 1-5 record in the last six games and 2-9 record in the past 11.

Let’s face it, even during the best of times, pessimism reigns supreme with the New York Rangers. That goes with

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals host the Texas Rangers trying to continue a four-game home winning streak. Kansas City is 34-29 in home games and 64-61 overall. Royals pitchers have a collective 3.61 ERA, which ranks second in the AL.

The Texas Rangers finished a six-game week against the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Toronto Blue Jays with a 2-4 record, three late-game meltdowns, two position players injured and one big bad blowout loss.

Rangers are two games away from making it into the Champions League proper as they vie with Club Brugge for a place in the league phase of the competition. The two sides will contest a spot over two legs with the Scottish side having already progressed through the second and third qualifying rounds.

The Texas Rangers placed Jake Burger on the 10-day injured list on Monday, a day after the infielder suffered a left wrist sprain against Toronto. Burger, 29, will make his third trip to the IL over the past two months.

Semien returned following a rare day off on Saturday due to right wrist soreness after he was hit by a pitch the previous night. He played through it in the opener, hitting a two-run homer in his final at-bat, but the swelling was too intense to overcome the following day, and Semien watched from the dugout as his team took a 14-2 loss.

Rangers have revived interest in Roma left-back Anass Salah-Eddine, with Spanish side Elche also keen on the 23-year-old. (Il Messaggero via Daily Record) Rangers have dismissed an approach from Lille to take striker Hamza Igamane on loan. (Rangers Review - subscription required)

The Texas Rangers could look to make a big trade in the offseason, and slugger Adolis Garcia is the main name who could be dealt.