Astros host the Royals to start 3-game series

By  THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
 
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Kansas City Royals (24-18, third in the AL Central) vs. Houston Astros (20-19, second in the AL West)

Houston; Monday, 8:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Michael Wacha (2-4, 2.98 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 34 strikeouts); Astros: Ryan Gusto (3-1, 2.93 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 29 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -118, Royals -102; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros host the Kansas City Royals on Monday to open a three-game series.

Houston has a 20-19 record overall and a 13-8 record in home games. Astros hitters are batting a collective .248, which ranks sixth in the AL.

Kansas City is 24-18 overall and 8-11 on the road. The Royals have the eighth-ranked team batting average in the AL at .242.

The matchup Monday is the fourth time these teams meet this season.

TOP PERFORMERS: Isaac Paredes has six doubles, a triple, four home runs and 17 RBIs while hitting .264 for the Astros. Jeremy Pena is 15 for 45 with two doubles and two home runs over the last 10 games.

Bobby Witt Jr. has 17 doubles and five home runs while hitting .315 for the Royals. Vinnie Pasquantino is 13 for 42 with a double and two home runs over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 4-6, .282 batting average, 3.96 ERA, outscored opponents by five runs

Royals: 7-3, .265 batting average, 2.45 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs

INJURIES: Astros: Jose Altuve: day-to-day (hamstring), Hayden Wesneski: 15-Day IL (elbow), Yordan Alvarez: 10-Day IL (hand), Forrest Whitley: 15-Day IL (knee), Spencer Arrighetti: 15-Day IL (thumb), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (elbow), J.P. France: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Taylor Trammell: 10-Day IL (calf), Pedro Leon: 10-Day IL (knee)

Royals: Alec Marsh: 60-Day IL (shoulder), James McArthur: 60-Day IL (elbow), Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (shoulder), Sam Long: 15-Day IL (elbow), Dairon Blanco: 10-Day IL (achilles), Kyle Wright: 15-Day IL (shoulder)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.