BLOOMINGTON, Minn. (Interstat) — The Minnesota Twins look to gain ground in the American League Central race Tuesday night when they host the Kansas City Royals at Target Field.

Minnesota (53-54) enters the 7:10 p.m. CDT contest just a half-game below .500, while the Royals (45-62) are trying to play spoiler. The forecast calls for 89-degree temperatures with clouds.

Left-hander Connor Prielipp is scheduled to start for Minnesota. Prielipp is coming off a strong outing July 26 against Oakland, allowing one earned run on two hits over 5 2/3 innings with five strikeouts in an 11-8 victory. He also pitched five innings of three-run ball against Cleveland on July 8.

Kansas City will counter with right-hander Luinder Avila. Avila earned a win Sunday in Detroit, allowing two earned runs on four hits over 4 1/3 innings with two strikeouts in a 5-4 Royals victory. He has won three of his past four starts, including a July 21 outing against San Francisco where he struck out seven over 6 1/3 innings of two-run ball.

The Royals have won three of the past four meetings between the teams, including a 6-5 victory June 7 in Kansas City. The Twins took the most recent home game in the series, a 5-3 win June 5.

Kansas City is coming off a series win in Detroit, taking three of four games. Michael Massey provided the key hit Sunday, a two-run home run in a 5-4 victory.

The Twins split a four-game series with Oakland, winning the finale 11-8 on Sunday after losing the previous two games by shutout. Shortstop Ryan Kreidler went 3 for 4 with an RBI in the win.

Interstat’s game simulator projects a 6-5 Royals victory. Minnesota is a -1.5 favorite with an over/under of 8 runs.

Both teams continue their four-game series Wednesday in Minnesota before the Royals travel to Colorado and the Twins visit Seattle. The clubs will meet again in Kansas City starting Aug. 4.