Kansas City Royals (75-59, second in the AL Central) vs. Houston Astros (71-62, first in the AL West)
Houston; Thursday, 8:10 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Brady Singer (9-9, 3.37 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 141 strikeouts); Astros: Hunter Brown (11-7, 3.72 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 151 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Astros -155, Royals +130; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros host the Kansas City Royals after Yordan Alvarez hit three home runs on Wednesday in a 10-0 win over the Phillies.
Houston is 35-29 in home games and 71-62 overall. The Astros have a 59-18 record in games when they out-hit their opponents.
Kansas City has a 34-31 record on the road and a 75-59 record overall. The Royals have the third-ranked team batting average in the AL at .258.
The matchup Thursday is the fourth time these teams match up this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Alvarez leads the Astros with a .311 batting average, and has 29 doubles, two triples, 28 home runs, 60 walks and 71 RBI. Yainer Diaz is 13-for-42 with four home runs and four RBI over the past 10 games.
Bobby Witt Jr. has 39 doubles, 11 triples and 28 home runs while hitting .346 for the Royals. Salvador Perez is 13-for-38 with five doubles and three home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 4-6, .272 batting average, 3.10 ERA, outscored opponents by seven runs
Royals: 6-4, .277 batting average, 4.85 ERA, outscored by four runs
INJURIES: Astros: J.P. France: 60-Day IL (undisclosed), Ryan Pressly: 15-Day IL (back), Kyle Tucker: 60-Day IL (shin), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (forearm), Jose Urquidy: 60-Day IL (forearm), Oliver Ortega: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Royals: Michael Lorenzen: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Will Smith: 15-Day IL (back), Hunter Renfroe: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (back), Dan Altavilla: 60-Day IL (oblique), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (biceps), Kyle Wright: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
