Dallas Keuchel (9-3, 2.17 ERA) starts for the Houston Astros (45-34) as they square off against Danny Duffy (2-3, 5.44 ERA) and the Kansas City Royals (44-29) in the second of a three-game series at Minute Maid Park. The Astros won the last game 6-1 and Houston leads the series 1-0. Action begins at 8:10 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Jun. 30 and can be seen on FSN-KC and ROOT-SW.
Keuchel is 1-0 with a 4.26 ERA in his appearances against the Royals, and goes up against a good Kansas City offense which is batting .272 this season. Jose Altuve (.292, 36 Rs, 7 HRs, 31 RBIs, 21 SBs) went 1 for 3 yesterday with one run, one home run, and one RBI. Against the Astros, Duffy is 1-1 with a 7.50 ERA, 2.67 WHIP, and seven strikeouts.
Houston is a -147 favorite against Kansas City and the Over/Under (O/U) for this game is sitting at seven runs. The Astros have an overall money line of +764 and a record as the favorite of 21-18. The Astros lead the MLB in home runs with 112. Houston is one of the best in the MLB in terms of steals, swiping 61 bases. As for the pitchers, the Astros are the second-best team in the league at limiting hits and walks to their opponents, recording a WHIP of 1.17 so far this season.
Over in the other dugout, Kansas City is coming in with an overall money line of +1,509 and an impressive record of 20-13 as the dog. They played solid baseball as the underdog over their last 10 games with a 5-1 record, and a 7-3 record SU. The The Royals allow just three runs per road game, ranking them third in the AL. When it comes to preventing batters from getting hits, the Royals are third in the AL with an average of 7.9 hits allowed per game.
The Astros have the edge in the season series, 1-0. The Astros have a 16-16 record against left-handed starting pitchers on the year, which is what they’ll be facing when Duffy takes the mound. Keuchel (LHP) will be on the hill against the Royals, who have a 12-12 record against left-handed starting pitchers.
Predictions: SU Winner – HOU, O/U – Over
Notes
When the Royals play into extra innings, they have a 3-1 record. The Astros are 3-3 when their games exceed nine innings.
Having scored one run in their last game, the Royals are going to have to up their game if they want to win this matchup. The Astros have a 13-0 record in games where opponents scored that many runs or fewer.
When they outhit their opponents, the Astros are 32-9. The Royals have a 38-4 record when outhitting opponents.
Ranking 15th in runs, Kansas City has earned 317 this season. Houston ranks third with 352 runs.
Ranking 30th, Kansas City is at the bottom of the league in walks, notching 156 this season. Houston ranks in the top five at fourth with 248.
When the Astros hit at least one home run, they are 35-20, well-matched with the Royals who are 29-13 when hitting one or more homers.
