Houston Astros vs Kansas City Royals Prediction & Betting Tips 8/31/2024

Houston Astros vs Kansas City Royals Preview

Both the Royals and Astros will send out a starter on Saturday that is looking to keep their team’s winning streak alive. Cole Ragans is starting for the Royals, and they are +118 on the money line. The Astros will start Yusei Kikuchi and they are the betting favorite at -140. This game is set for 7:10 PM ET from Minute Maid Park in Houston, and the Astros are currently on a three-game winning streak, while the Royals have lost three straight.

The over/under line for Saturday’s game is currently at 8 runs, and it can be seen on MLB Network. The Royals are 75-61 this season, while the Astros are first in the AL West at 73-62.

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Houston Astros vs. Kansas City Royals Trends and Key Stats

• 2-3 is the record of Royals in their last five road games. They have also gone 3-2 vs. the runline.
• On the opposing side, the Astros have a 2-3 (SU) record, along with a 3-2 record in their last five home contests.
• In their last ten games as the favorite, the Astros have a record of 7-3 straight-up, and have gone 5-5 against the runline.
• Over their previous ten games as the underdog, the Royals have a straight-up record of 4-6 and a 5-5 record vs. the runline.

Thanks to a two-run 9th inning for the Royals’ offense, they picked up a 2-3 win over the Astros in the most recent game of this series. Heading into the game, the Astros were favored at -185 on the money line.

The starting pitching matchup for this game featured Framber Valdez for the Astros, and he went seven innings while giving up just one hit and no earned runs. Valdez finished the game with seven strikeouts but issued three walks. Seth Lugo put together a good outing for the Royals, going seven innings and giving up just one earned run on six hits.

Houston’s offense was led by Ben Gamel, Jose Altuve, and Yainer Diaz, as they were the only three Astros hitters to have more than one hit. Gamel and Altuve each homered in the game. For the Royals, Paul DeJong hit the game’s only other home run and went 1/3.

Houston Astros vs Kansas City Royals Prediction

The Royals are 75-61 overall and trail the Guardians by 2.5 games in the AL Central. Kansas City has dropped three straight games, and these losses have come with them 2nd in the AL Central standings. So far, they have been good against other teams in the AL Central, putting up a record of 29-14.

At home, the Royals have gone 41-28 this season and are just above .500 at 34-33 on the road. As the underdog, the Royals are 18-24 this season, and they are 43-25 when favored. Kansas City’s overall series record is 20-21-2, and they have won two straight series on the road.

The Royals are 37-30 against the run line on the road this season, and their average run differential in those games is +0.7. They have covered the run line in their last two road games and are 41-27 against the run line as an underdog this season.

The Kansas City Royals are on the road against the Houston Astros today. The O/U line for the game is set at 8 runs, which is lower than their combined run average of 8.9 runs per game. The Royals have an O/U record of 63-69 on the season, and their average O/U line is set at 9 runs. When the O/U line is set at 8 runs, they have a record of 14-11-2. Overall, 63.2% of their games have had higher O/U lines than 8 runs.

Kansas City is sending left-hander Cole Ragans to the mound today vs. the Astros. He has made 27 starts this year and has a record of 10-8 with a 3.28 ERA. Ragans’ WHIP for the season is currently 1.16. In his 27 appearances, he has turned in 17 quality starts and is averaging 10.77 strikeouts per nine innings. Ragans’ last outing came vs. the Guardians, where he finished with a no-decision, giving up one earned run in four innings of work. Before that, he had won two straight starts. The left-hander has been much better on the road, coming in with an ERA of 2.69 compared to 5.64 at home.

As a team, the Royals are batting .256, which is the 4th best mark in the league. They also have the 7th best scoring offense in the MLB, averaging 4.8 runs per game. At home, they have been even better, averaging 5.2 runs per contest. Overall, the Royals are 12th in home runs and have the league’s 2nd fewest strikeouts per game.

Bobby Witt Jr. has been the Royals’ best hitter this season, batting .341 with 28 home runs and 95 RBIs. His 95 RBIs are the 2nd best mark in the league. Salvador Perez and Vinnie Pasquantino have also been key run producers for the Royals, as Perez has 94 RBIs and Pasquantino has 97. Over his last five games, Paul DeJong has three home runs and is batting .294.

Houston is currently 73-62 overall and leads the AL West by four games over the Mariners. The Astros have taken the first two games of their series vs. the Royals and have an overall series record of 23-18-2 this year. At home, the Astros are 37-29 compared to 36-33 on the road.

As the favorite, the Astros have gone 55-43 this year and 18-19 as the underdog. Houston has won three straight games as the favorite, and their overall record is 5-5 over their last ten games. At home, the Astros have gone 34-24 when favored this year.

When the Astros win, they do so by an average of 3.7 runs per game, which is why they are 44-54 against the run line as favorites. They are 25-12 against the run line as underdogs, and their run line record is 69-66 overall. Their average run differential is +0.6 runs per game. They are 30-36 against the run line at home and 39-30 against the run line on the road. Their run differential at home is +0.9 runs per game, while it is +0.3 runs per game on the road.

With a combined run average of 8.5 runs per game, the Houston Astros have seen their games go over the total 53 times this season, while going under 77 times. The average over/under line for their games this season has been 9 runs, and when the line has been set at 8 runs, their over/under record is 11-13-2. Overall, 60% of their games have had over/under lines set at 8 runs or higher.

Left-hander Yusei Kikuchi gets the start for the Astros today as he faces the Royals at home. He has made 27 starts this year and has a record of 6-9 with an ERA of 4.38. Kikuchi’s WHIP for the season is currently 1.27. In his 27 appearances, he has turned in eight quality starts and is averaging 10.34 strikeouts per nine innings. Kikuchi most recently faced the Orioles, where he finished with a no-decision, giving up three earned runs in 5 2/3 innings of work. He has not lost since July 30th.

Yordan Alvarez has been on a tear of late for the Astros, going 11/29 in his last seven games with three homers and five RBIs. For the season, he is batting .312 with 28 homers, which is 8th in the league and the best mark on the team. Alvarez is also 2nd on the team with 71 RBIs. Catcher Yainer Diaz has been the Astros’ most consistent run producer, as his 72 RBIs are the best on the team, and he is batting .299.

As a team, the Astros are 2nd in the league in batting average at .261 and are averaging 4.6 runs per game. They have been even better at home, averaging 4.7 runs per contest. Overall, they are 10th in home runs and have the 10th best slugging percentage in the league.

Our pick for the Royals and Astros matchup is to take the Royals on the money line at +118. We have the Royals winning this one by a final score of 5-4. If you’re looking for a parlay, you could also consider taking the under, as the line is sitting at 8 runs, and we have this game going under.

Looking at the starting pitchers, we have Yusei Kikuchi finishing with more strikeouts than Cole Ragans. However, Kikuchi is projected to finish with seven K’s, and we have him finishing with five. As for Ragans, we have him finishing with five strikeouts.

Houston Astros vs Kansas City Royals Betting Tips

• We like the Royals on the moneyline (+118)
• The Royals are also our pick on the spread at +1.5
• Projecting a combined 9 runs, we like the over

Houston Astros Injury Report

Kansas City Royals Injury Report