Series wins have been hard to come by for the Kansas City Royals. Ahead of the second contest of a three-game set against the host Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday, the Royals can begin the month of June by clinching the interleague series.

Kansas City has won just one series since May 11 but flew past Cincinnati 9-2 in a rare offensive outburst on Monday — the Royals’ highest run total since April 26. The Royals, who have scored the fewest runs in the American League (230), hope the series opener was a sign of things to come.

“I think it’s easy sometimes when you’re down in games early on to put pressure on yourself to score,” said Kansas City right fielder Lane Thomas, who hit a first-inning grand slam on Monday.

“When you get a comfortable lead and guys are taking good at-bats all the way through the game, you can put up a good amount of runs.”

A 10-18 mark in May plummeted the Royals in the American League Central race, but Thomas and company are far from ready to give in.

“We have 100-something games left. I think that’s the mindset in here,” Thomas said. “Just take it day by day and turn this thing around.”

Kansas City’s Noah Cameron (2-4, 4.61 ERA) will make his 11th start of the season on Tuesday, searching for his first win since April 24. The left-hander allowed two runs on four hits across five-plus innings on Wednesday, striking out four and walking one in a 7-0 loss to the New York Yankees.

Cameron, 26, has faced the Reds once, yielding one run on six hits in a 3-2 victory on May 28, 2025.

Cincinnati, meanwhile, has dropped four of its past five and has allowed six runs per game across that stretch. Making matters worse, star shortstop Elly De La Cruz was sent to the injured list for the first time in his career after straining his right hamstring on Sunday.

De La Cruz leads the Reds in hits (65) and is tied with Sal Stewart with a team-high 12 home runs and 37 RBIs.

In the corresponding move, the club called up second baseman Edwin Arroyo, who singled and scored a run in his major league debut on Monday. The 22-year-old was batting .323 with 11 homers and 34 RBIs in 53 games for Triple-A Louisville before being thrown into the starting lineup for the ailing Reds.

“He made a really nice play at second, which was good to see,” Cincinnati manager Terry Francona said. “It was nice to see him get a base hit. That kind of gave everybody a little lift.”

Matt McLain, who’s batting .198, filled in for De La Cruz at shortstop on Monday.

Andrew Abbott (4-3, 3.88) will look to prolong an impressive stretch on the mound for the Reds in his 13th start of the year.

Abbott, 27, went 3-1 with a 1.29 ERA in May after entering the month with a 5.97 ERA. He scattered three runs (two earned) and five hits across six innings on Wednesday, striking out four and walking one in a 4-2 road loss against the New York Mets.

Abbott has faced Kansas City just once, on Aug. 18, 2024. He permitted four runs in five innings en route to an 8-1 loss.

–Field Level Media