Royals, Braves Set for Rubber Match in Atlanta

ATLANTA (Interstat) — The Kansas City Royals and Atlanta Braves will decide their season-opening series Sunday in a split doubleheader finale at Truist Park.

The Royals (0-1) evened the series with a 2-0 victory Saturday after dropping the opener 6-0 on Friday. First pitch for Sunday’s game is set for [TIME - PICK ONE: afternoon OR evening] under clear skies with a temperature near 65 degrees.

Kansas City is expected to send right-hander Grant Holmes to the mound. Atlanta will counter with left-hander Chris Sale (1-0), who dominated the Royals in the series opener. Sale tossed six scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out six in Friday’s win.

A player to watch for the Royals is left-hander Bailey Falter, who relieved starter Cole Ragans on Friday. Falter allowed two earned runs over three innings, striking out four.

The Braves’ offense, which was held quiet Saturday, will look to rebound. In Friday’s win, Ozzie Albies went 2-for-4 with a home run and Michael Harris II also homered, driving in two runs.

According to Interstat, the game simulator projects a narrow 3-2 victory for the Royals. However, the same service’s ELO system gives the Braves a 54% probability to win. Atlanta has been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -1.5. The over/under is set at 8 runs.

Following the series, the Royals return home to open a three-game set against the Minnesota Twins on Monday. The Braves will remain at home to begin a three-game series against the Athletics, also on Monday.