Astros vs. Royals Pick
Can the Houston Astros avoid losing a series to the Kansas City Royals when the two close out their four-game series tonight at 8:15PM ET?
According to oddsmakers at Bovada.lv, the Astros are favored on the road, as they are getting odds of -185 to win, while the Royals are listed with odds of +170 to prevail. The over/under total for the game has been set at 9 runs.
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Today’s pitching matchup has Lance McCullers Jr. (6-1, 2.71 ERA) on the mound for Houston to face Jason Hammel (2-6, 5.93) of the Royals. McCullers has been rolling along for the most part, winning his last four decisions while Houston has won his last five starts. He has 81 strikeouts over 69.2 innings of work this season with a WHIP of 1.11. Hammel has allowed at least three runs in five straight starts. He has 47 walks with 23 walks in 57.2 innings of work. His WHIP this season is 1.60.
Houston was on an 11-game win streak, but the Astros have since lost back-to-back games to the Royals. KC picked up a 9-7 win on Tuesday and a 7-5 win on Wednesday to at least assure a split in this four-game series. The Royals have won four of six meetings with Houston this year. Kansas City is 26-32 overall and 17-15 at home while Houston is 42-18 overall and 22-8 on the road.
The Royals got a nice surprise when Dallas Keuchel was pulled from his start due to an illness. KC lit up Dayan Diaz for three runs in 2.1 innings and added four more on the Houston bullpen. Jason Vargas pitched five inning and allowed just two runs to get his eighth win, but the KC bullpen nearly blew the game late, allowing three runs in the eighth inning. Cheslor Cuthbert had two hits and drove in three runs to lead KC while Alcides Escobar had two hits and two RBI. Brian McCann had four hits and drove in two to lead Houston.
Wednesday’s loss was a little unpredictable as Houston scratched their ace before the game. The Astros were in a tough spot, having to use a lot of short-term arms. Today, I think McCullers gets the Astros back on track. He has been pitching quite well for a month and Houston has done well when he toes the rubber. Hammel has struggled and is facing a very good hitting lineup. I like Houston to bounce back tonight.
MLB DAILY PREDICTION: HOUSTON ASTROS -185