Royals vs. Astros Odds & Predictions 7/7/22

Kansas City Royals vs Houston Astros

Date: Thursday, July 7th, 02:10 ET

Location: Minute Maid Park

TV: ATSW

Money Line: Royals +250 / Astros -340 (Bovada)

Total Line: 8

STARTING PITCHING

Kansas City: Khris Bubic (1-5, 7.06)
Houston: Justin Verlander (10-3, 2.03)

Royals Projected Lineup

W Merrifield
A Benintendi
Bobby Witt
V Pasquantino
H Dozier
MJ Melendez
E Olivares
M Taylor
N Lopez

Astros Projected Lineup

J Altuve
J Pena
Y Alvarez
A Bregman
K Tucker
Y Gurriel
J Meyers
M Dubon
M Maldanado

STRAIGHT UP/ OVER/UNDER / RUN LINE RECORDS

Kansas City Royals: 30-50-0 SU / OU 40-36-4 / Run Line W/L 35-45-0
Houston Astros: 53-28-0 SU / OU 29-49-3 / Run Line W/L 43-38-0

The Houston Astros host the Kansas City Royals on Thursday, July 7th at Minute Maid Park. The first pitch in this matchup is scheduled for 02:10 ET. The MLB Odds Board places Houston as the favorite (-340), with an OU line set at 8.

Recent Form

The Royals come into today’s game having just knocked off the Astros by a score of 7-4. In the game, Kansas City jumped on Houston early, putting up 3 runs in the first inning. Hunter Dozier had a big night at the plate, driving in 3 runs while going 2-3. Starter Brad Keller lasted 5 2/3 of an inning, compiling 3 strikeouts.

After their win in yesterday’s ballgame, the Royals are hoping to pick up their 2nd win in the series vs Houston. In their previous series vs Detroit, the Royals won 2 of 3 games, including breaking out for 7 runs in the series finale.

The Houston Astros will look to bounce back from yesterday’s 7-4 loss to Kansas City, as Cristian Javier had a rough night on the mound. Even though Javier compiled 7 strikeouts, the Royals got to him early. In all, he was able to work through 5 innings, giving up 5 earned runs. Offensively, Jake Meyers drove in 2 runs on 2 hits for the Astors.

Yesterday’s loss to Kansas City snapped an 8 game win streak for the Astros. Over that stretch, Houston benefited from some outstanding work on the mound, as the team’s pitching staff limited opponents to less than 2 runs in 6 of those games. However, the Astros bats also had their hand in the win streak, putting up at least 7 runs on 5 separate occasions.

Pitching Matchup

Kansas City will look to pull off the upset by sending with Kris Bubic on the mound. So far, Bubuc has a record of 1-5 and an ERA of 7.06. Opposing teams have had no problem getting on base vs the lefty, as his WHIP currently sits at 1.87. In his last outing vs Detroit, Bubic kept the Royals in the game, as he gave up 2 runs across 4 2/3 innings. So far, he has yet to work deep into games, completing 6 innings just 1 time.

For the Astros, Justin Verlander will look to continue another excellent season, as he has a record of 10-3, including a 2.03 ERA. On the season, he has accumulated 90 strikeouts to just 17 walks. Verlander should be well rested on the mound, as his last start came on June 29th. In the outing, he pitched 8 scoreless innings vs the Mets.

Kansas City vs Houston History

This season, the Royals and Astros have met up for 6 games, with Houston coming out on top 4 times. So far, these meetings have been high-scoring affairs, with only 1 game finishing below 11 runs.

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Betting Trends

• The total has gone OVER in 6 of Kansas City’s last 7 games when playing Houston
• Kansas City is 6-1 ATS in its last 7 games
• Houston is 9-1 SU in its last 10 games at home
• Houston is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games

Kansas City Royals at Houston Astros Prediction

Even though this year’s series between Kansas City and Houston has featured a lot of scoring, I don’t expect the Royals to be able to muster much offense vs Justin Verlander. On the other side, look for Houston’s bats to get to Khris Bubic early and often. I like the Astros to cover the runline.

Free MLB Pick: Astros Runline