Kansas City Royals (12-23, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Houston Astros (20-14, first in the AL West)
Houston; Monday, 8 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Jakob Junis (3-2, 5.12 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 34 strikeouts) Astros: Gerrit Cole (3-4, 3.95 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 65 strikeouts)
BOTTOM LINE: Houston and Kansas City will square off at Minute Maid Park on Monday.
The Astros are 10-3 on their home turf. Houston leads the American League in hitting with a .273 batting average, Michael Brantley leads the team with an average of .336.
The Royals are 4-12 on the road. Kansas City has slugged .430 this season. Hunter Dozier leads the team with a mark of .667. This is the first game between these teams in 2019.
TOP PERFORMERS: Carlos Correa leads the Astros with 17 extra base hits and is slugging .556. Alex Bregman is 8-for-38 with five home runs and 11 RBIs over the last 10 games for Houston.
Whit Merrifield leads the Royals with 41 hits and has 14 RBIs. Jorge Soler is 12-for-38 with four doubles, two home runs and eight RBIs over the last 10 games for Kansas City.
LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 5-5, .255 batting average, 3.38 ERA, outscored opponents by 18 runs
Royals: 4-6, .251 batting average, 4.32 ERA, outscored opponents by seven runs
Astros Injuries: Joe Smith: 10-day IL (achilles), Lance McCullers Jr.: 10-day IL (elbow).
Royals Injuries: Trevor Oaks: 60-day IL (hip), Jesse Hahn: 60-day IL (elbow), Brian Flynn: 10-day IL (elbow), Lucas Duda: 10-day IL (lumbar strain), Salvador Perez: 60-day IL (elbow).
