Houston Astros (13-11, third in the AL West) vs. Kansas City Royals (12-14, third in the AL Central)
Kansas City, Missouri; Friday, 7:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Hayden Wesneski (1-1, 3.91 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 25 strikeouts); Royals: Seth Lugo (1-3, 3.90 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 21 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -126, Royals +106; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros aim to keep a three-game win streak intact when they play the Kansas City Royals.
Kansas City has a 9-4 record in home games and a 12-14 record overall. The Royals have an 8-3 record in games when they did not give up a home run.
Houston has a 13-11 record overall and a 4-5 record on the road. The Astros have the seventh-ranked team batting average in the AL at .236.
The teams meet Friday for the first time this season.
TOP PERFORMERS: Salvador Perez has eight doubles and two home runs for the Royals. Bobby Witt Jr. is 12-for-40 with four doubles and a home run over the last 10 games.
Jeremy Pena has three home runs, eight walks and eight RBI while hitting .253 for the Astros. Jose Carlos Altuve is 9-for-39 with two doubles and three RBI over the last 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Royals: 4-6, .224 batting average, 4.14 ERA, outscored by eight runs
Astros: 7-3, .259 batting average, 2.56 ERA, outscored opponents by 13 runs
INJURIES: Royals: Cole Ragans: day-to-day (groin), Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Sam Long: 15-Day IL (elbow), Dairon Blanco: 10-Day IL (achilles), Kyle Wright: 15-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 15-Day IL (elbow), Alec Marsh: 15-Day IL (shoulder)
Astros: Spencer Arrighetti: 15-Day IL (thumb), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (elbow), Shawn Dubin: 15-Day IL (shoulder), J.P. France: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Taylor Trammell: 10-Day IL (calf), Kaleb Ort: 15-Day IL (oblique), Pedro Leon: 10-Day IL (knee), Lance McCullers Jr.: 15-Day IL (forearm)
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
