Kansas City Royals vs Houston Astros Prediction, Pick and Preview, August 23: MLB

Odds

Time	8:10 p.m. EST
Royals money line	+208
Royals run line	+1.5 (+106)
Astros money line	-233
Astros run line	-1.5 (-128)
Over / under	9.0

 

Key stats

	Royals	Astros
Record	55-68	73-51
Road / home record	23-37	39-24
Last 10 record	6-4	5-5
Streak	W3	L1
Over / under record	52-62-9	68-52-4
Runs / game	4.13	5.42
Runs allowed / game	4.90	3.94

 

Preview

The Houston Astros will host the Kansas City Royals for their second series this month. KC nearly swept Houston at Kauffman Stadium last week, before dropping the final game in extras.

The Royals are fresh off of a road sweep over the Chicago Cubs. KC outscored Chicago 19-5 at Wrigley Field and they generously covered the run line for each matchup. They've won six out of seven and they enter this set with some momentum.

The Astros responded to a four-game losing streak by taking two of three from the Mariners. Houston's bats were on full display in their two wins, impressively outscoring Seattle 27-4. With a vital trip to Safeco Field looming, look for Houston to keep the production coming.

Pitching matchup

Royals

Daniel Lynch (3-3, 5.12 ERA) will start for Kansas City. The rookie pitcher is coming off of arguably his best start as a pro, holding the Astros to one run over five innings of work. He struggled in his first two starts away from home, but he earned the White Sox in his last road start after tossing seven strikeouts in five innings.

Astros

Zach Greinke (11-3, 3.43 ERA) will take the mound tonight. The future hall-of-famer fared well last week in his start against his former team, giving up only one run over six innings. Greinke has been steady at Minute Maid Park this season, and hasn't given up more than three runs in a home start since April. He remains a reliable pitcher, even at this stage in his career.

Prediction

When these two teams clashed last week, Kansas City managed to get the upper hand three times. This time around at Minute Maid Park, things will surely be different. Houston is always a threat to explode at the plate, and containing them at home with a rookie seems very unlikely, despite his performance last week. KC won't back down at plate on the road either though, so the total of nine feels very manageable. Take the over and Astros run line tonight.

PICK: Over 9.0 (+100)

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