Sunday, October 11, 2015

Minute Maid Park

For Updated Odds on This Game Click Here

Probable Pitchers: Edinson Volquez (13-9) vs. Dallas Keuchel (21-8)

The Kansas City Royals head to Minute Maid Park on Sunday to take on the Houston Astros. Edinson Volquez is the probable starter for the Royals and he'll face Dallas Keuchel of the Astros. The opening line for this matchup has Kansas City at +165 and Houston at -190. The over/under was set at 7. The Royals have a 74-76 over/under record and a 89-75 run line mark, meaning they cover 54% of the time. The Astros are 87-78 against the run line and have a 74-82 over/under record. They cover the spread 53% of the time.

The Royals head into this matchup with a 96-68 record, including 44-37 on the road. Starting pitcher Edinson Volquez holds a 13-9 record with an earned run average of 3.55 and a WHIP of 1.31. In his starts, the Royals are 22-11 over his 200.1 innings pitched this season while giving up 190 hits during those innings. The Royals are also 16-14 against the over/under in his starts. He is getting 5 runs from the team when he takes the mound. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.72 and they have given up 419 base hits on the year. The bullpen has struck out 502 and walked 191 batters this season while opposing teams hit .211 against them. Kansas City has a team average of 8.52 hits allowed per game and are averaging 7.24 strikeouts per nine innings. With a team earned run average of 3.75, they are 11th in the league.

As a team, Kansas City is batting .268, good for 2nd in the league while putting together a .259 average away from home. The Royals hold a .413 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .322 which is good for 11th in baseball. With 179 hits, Eric Hosmer leads the team while his team ranks 3rd in hits per game with 9.23.

With a 53-28 home record, Houston will hope to improve on their 88-77 overall mark. With an earned run average of 2.42, Dallas Keuchel will come into this game holding a 21-8 record and a 1.01 WHIP. In his starts, the Astros are 24-10 and he has allowed 188 hits over 238 innings pitched this season. The Astros are also 16-18 against the over/under in his starts. He is getting 5.3 runs from the team when he takes the mound. The bullpen has an earned run average of 3.27 and they have given up 371 base hits on the year. The Astros bullpen has struck out 463 batters and walked 135 this season while opposing teams have hit .216 against them. Houston has a team average of 8.15 hits per game and are averaging 7.98 strikeouts per nine innings. With a team earned run average of 3.55, they are 6th in the league.

As a team, they are batting .250, good for 22nd in the league while putting together a .253 average at home. The Astros hold a .436 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .315 which is good for 15th in baseball. With 204 hits, Jose Altuve leads the team while his team ranks 23rd in hits per game with 8.41.

Kansas City has a team fielding percentage of .985 after having committed 88 errors with 1,611 assists and 4,356 put outs for the season. Over the course of this season, the Astros have accumulated 85 errors while having 1,617 assists and 4,323 put outs leading to a .986 fielding percentage.

Kansas City Royals Betting Trends

The Kansas City Royals are 74-76 against the over/under so far this season

The Kansas City Royals are 89-75 against the run line so far this season

Houston Astros Betting Trends

The Houston Astros are 74-82 against the over/under so far this season

The Houston Astros are 87-78 against the run line so far this season

Injuries to Watch

Kansas City Royals

09/24/15 P Greg Holland Elbow out for season
09/19/15 2B Omar Infante Oblique out indefinitely
07/22/15 P Jason Vargas Elbow Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (7/22); out for season
05/17/15 P Brian Flynn Shoulder Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (5/16)
04/06/15 P Tim Collins Elbow Injury is on the 15 day disabled list (4/6)

Houston Astros

10/09/15 CF Carlos Gomez Oblique "?" Sunday vs. Kansas City Royals
09/11/15 P Scott Feldman Shoulder Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (9/14); out for season
05/19/15 P Samuel Deduno Back Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (5/14), out for season
04/17/15 P Brad Peacock Hip Injury is on the 60 day disabled list (4/14); out for season

Josh's Pick: Take the Royals

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