The Royals enjoyed a well-deserved day off before Milwaukee arrived for a four-game weekend series. The day off was Kansas City’s first since August 9, as the controversial makeup game in New York on August 29 took place on what was supposed to be a travel day.

Elsewhere in the division, Minnesota got rained out at home while the other two pursuers also had days off, so the Royals maintained their 2.5-game lead over Chicago, three games over the Twins, and 3.5 games over Texas.

Today’s birthdays: Monty Montgomery (1946), Derek Wallace (1971), Sean O’Sullivan (1987)