The Houston Astros and the Kansas City Royals meet Tuesday in MLB action from Kauffman Stadium. We will look at this from a betting perspective and determine the best bets for this game. Here’s a Royals vs Astros Prediction.
Starting Pitching Matchup
The Houston Astros will trot out Framber Valdez for the start here, and Valdez is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA and 26 strikeouts this season. In his last five starts against the Royals, Valdez is 2-2 with a 3.09 ERA and 32 strikeouts. Michael Wacha will start for Kansas City here, and Wacha is 0-3 with a 4.15 ERA and 20 strikeouts this season. This will be Wacha’s second career start against the Astros.
Houston Astros Recap
The Houston Astros will be out to bounce back from a 2-0 loss at the hands of the Royals in Friday’s series opener to fall to 13-12 on the year. After this series, the Astros will head home for a series against the Detroit Tigers.
Astros Have Three-Game Win Streak Snapped
Jose Altuve leads the Astros with 29 hits, including 3 home runs and 9 RBIs. Jeremy Pena also has 3 homers and 5 stolen bases, while Yordan Alvarez has 3 doubles and a team-high 13 RBIs with 18 strikeouts as well. Brendan Rodgers has 3 doubles while Jake Meyers has 4 doubles as well, and Christian Walker has also accrued a team-high 29 strikeouts so far this season. Altuve also has 3 stolen bases, while Jake Meyers has a team-high 7 stolen bases this season. Isaac Paredes also has a team-high 4 home runs with 13 RBIs of his own, and Cam Smith has contributed 3 homers and 10 RBIs.
Why the Houston Astros will win
- The Astros have won each of their last eight games following a road loss.
- The Royals have lost eight of their last nine night games against American League opponents that held a winning record.
- The Astros have covered the run line in each of their last 10 road games against American League opponents following a loss.
- The Royals have failed to cover the run line in five of their last six night games following a win.
Houston Astros Player Prop Facts
- Isaac Paredes has hit a home run in four of the Astros’ last seven games against AL opponents.
- Yainer Diaz has recorded an RBI in each of his last four road appearances against the Royals.
- Framber Valdez has recorded a win in four of his last five appearances with the Astros as road favorites against AL opponents.
- Yainer Diaz has scored a run in each of his last six appearances against the Royals.
- Framber Valdez has recorded five or more strikeouts in each of his last 10 appearances against AL Central opponents that held a losing record.
- Isaac Paredes has recorded at least one hit in each of the Astros’ last nine games against AL opponents.
- Victor Caratini has recorded at least one Single in each of his last seven appearances in night games against AL Central teams that held a losing record.
Kansas City Royals Recap
The Kansas City Royals come into this one looking to build on their series-opening win over the Astros on Friday to improve to 13-14 on the year. After this series, the Royals will head on the road for a series against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Royals Win Five In A Row
Bobby Witt Jr. has a team-high 33 hits with 10 doubles and 8 stolen bases, while Vinnie Pasquantino has 18 hits with 4 doubles, a triple, 2 home runs, and 15 RBIs. Maikel Garcia added 25 hits with 6 doubles, 2 home runs, and 10 RBIs, and Salvador Perez also has 2 home runs and 14 RBIs, but also has the unfortunate distinction of leading the Royals with 23 strikeouts so far this season.
Why the Kansas City Royals will win
- The Royals have won each of their last seven games as underdogs against the Astros following a win.
- The Astros have lost four of their last five games as road favorites.
- The Royals have covered the run line in each of their last seven games against the Astros following a win.
- The Astros have failed to cover the run line in seven of their last eight night games against the Royals following a loss.
Kansas City Royals Player Prop Facts
- Jonathan India has hit a home run in four of his last seven appearances against AL West opponents that held a winning record.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded a Double in three of the Royals’ last four home games against AL opponents.
- Hunter Renfroe has recorded at least one RBI in four of his last five appearances in night games against AL West teams that held a winning record.
- Michael Wacha has recorded five or more strikeouts in four of his last five appearances against AL West opponents.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has scored at least one run in eight of the Royals’ last 10 home games against the Astros.
- Vinnie Pasquantino has recorded at least one hit in each of his last nine home appearances against AL West opponents that held a winning record.
- Bobby Witt Jr. has recorded at least one Single in each of the Royals’ last four home games against AL West opponents that held a winning record.
- Bobby Witt Jr. ranks T5th in the league in Steals (8) this season.
Total Runs Facts
- Each of the Astros’ last seven games after playing the previous day have gone UNDER the total runs line.
- Each of the Royals’ last six home games against American League opponents have gone UNDER the total runs line.
Royals vs Astros Prediction
I’m on the under in this game. I think game one on Friday was kind of a microcosm of what we’ve seen from these two teams so far this season, just solid pitching, but two offenses that have been inconsistent from a production standpoint. They have been hard to trust in terms of knowing what they’re going to put up on a game-to-game basis. I mean, the Royals have scored 4 runs or fewer in 18 of their last 20 games, and the Astros have been struggling as well since day one, for the most part. I think this is going to be another low-scoring battle. Give me the under.