The Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals clash Friday in game 1 of an MLB series at Kauffman Stadium. Let’s preview this game and give out a pick and prediction.

Houston Astros Betting Preview

The Astros look for a win after winning 6 of their last 9 games. The Astros have a 0.5 game lead in the AL West. The Astros pitching staff is 10th in ERA (3.97), 15th in WHIP (1.28) and 5th in quality starts (65). The Astros offense is 5th in runs per game (5.16), 4th in batting average (.262) and 8th in homers (201). Alex Bregman leads the Astros with 152 hits and 94 RBI, while Kyle Tucker and Jeremy Pena have combined for 286 hits and 154 RBI. Cristian Javier gets the ball, and he is 9-3 with a 4.78 ERA and 132 strikeouts this season. Javier is 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA and 9 strikeouts in his career against the Royals.

Houston Astros Team Facts

• The Astros have won each of their last eight road games.
• The Astros have covered the run line in each of their last eight road games.
• The Astros have led after 5 innings in each of their last 13 games as road favorites against AL Central opponents.
• The Astros have led after 3 innings in each of their last five night games against AL Central opponents that held a losing record.
• The ‘Inning 1 OVER 0.5 runs’ market has hit in each of the Astros’ last three road games.

Kansas City Royals Betting Preview

The Royals need a win after losing 13 of their last 18 games. The Royals have the worst record in baseball at 46-101. The Royals pitching staff is 28th in ERA (5.22), 24th in WHIP (1.41) and 29th in quality starts (31). The Royals’ offense is 26th in runs per game (4.09), 20th in batting average (.242) and 26th in homers (145). Bobby Witt Jr. leads the Royals with 161 hits and 88 RBI, while Salvador Perez and MJ Melendez have combined for 242 hits and 117 RBI. Zack Greinke gets the ball, and he is 1-15 with a 5.47 ERA and 84 strikeouts this season. Greinke is 6-4 with a 3.19 ERA and 65 strikeouts in his career against the Astros.

Kansas City Royals Team Facts

• The Royals have lost 14 of their last 15 games against American League opponents following a road win.
• The Royals have failed to cover the run line in each of their last seven Friday night games as home underdogs against AL West opponents.
• The Royals have won the first inning in three of their last four games as underdogs against the Astros.
• The Royals have trailed after 7 innings in each of their last five games against opponents that held a winning record.
• The Royals have trailed after 5 innings in each of their last five night games against AL West opponents.

Matchup/League Facts

• The Kansas City Royals rank T1st in the league for triples this season (39).
• The Kansas City Royals rank 29th in the league for walks this season (366).
• The Houston Astros rank 3rd in the league for strikeouts against this season (1122).
• The Houston Astros rank 4th in the league for hits this season (1311).

Randy’s Pick

The Royals just aren’t a team I’m excited to get behind, as they’re the worst team in baseball and they don’t make bettors money. It’s even worse with Zack Greinke on the mound and his 5.47 ERA and 1-15 record. Greinke is a shell of himself and an innings’ eater at this point in his career. The Astros are fighting for a division title and this is the perfect spot against a garbage opponent to create some distance. There’s only one option here for me, and that’s to side with the Astros and the RL for max betting value.