KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Interstat) — The Minnesota Twins look to avoid a three-game sweep Thursday when they face the Kansas City Royals in the finale of an American League Central series at Kauffman Stadium.

Minnesota (56-59) has lost two straight after Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat. Kansas City (48-67) has won consecutive games after dropping five of six. The season series is tied 5-5.

Bailey Ober (7-3) is scheduled to start for the Twins. Kansas City is expected to counter with Michael Wacha (5-8). The forecast at game time calls for 79 degrees and cloudy skies.

The Royals won Tuesday’s opener 8-2, then edged the Twins again Wednesday. Minnesota’s offense has managed only three runs in the series and will look to break through against Wacha, who has struggled this season with a 5-8 record.

Twins right-hander Dean Kremer is a player to watch after his latest performance Wednesday: five innings, three hits, one earned run and two strikeouts in a losing effort. Kansas City’s Noah Cameron, meanwhile, has dominated the Twins. Cameron earned the win Wednesday with eight innings of two-hit, one-run ball and nine strikeouts. In two starts against Minnesota this season, he has allowed one earned run over 16 innings. He also had a seven-inning scoreless outing against Detroit on July 24, though he is not expected to start Thursday.

Michael Massey powered the Royals on Wednesday, going 2 for 3 with a home run and an RBI. Reliever Steven Cruz added a scoreless inning. For Minnesota, Jeff Hoffman and Tommy Nance also pitched a scoreless inning apiece in relief.

The numbers are split for the series finale. Interstat’s game simulator projects a 5-3 Minnesota victory. Interstat’s ELO system gives Kansas City a 50.9 percent chance to win. Minnesota is a minus-1.5 run-line favorite, with an over/under of 8 1/2 runs.

The Twins have dropped both games at Kauffman Stadium this week and are 1-4 against Kansas City in their last five meetings. The Royals are looking for their third straight win and a sweep that would give them the season-series edge.

After Thursday, Minnesota travels to Milwaukee for a three-game series starting Friday. Kansas City opens a three-game homestand against the Chicago Cubs. But first, both teams must settle this series under the Kansas City lights, with Ober and Wacha on the mound and playoff hopes growing thinner with each passing day.