Houston Astros vs Kansas City Royals Prediction, 8/17/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Houston Astros vs Kansas City Royals

Date: Tuesday, August 17, 2021

Location: Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, MO

TV: Bally Sports Kansas City

Odds/Point Spread: Houston (-208) Kansas City (+160)

Daniel Lynch and the Kansas City Royals (49-67, 5th in AL Central) host the Houston Astros (70-47, 1st in AL West) at Kauffman Stadium on Tuesday. The line on this contest has the Astros priced at -208 and the Royals are at +160. The O/U opens at 8.5. The starting pitchers are Framber Valdez and Daniel Lynch.

The Astros have accrued 218 two-baggers as a squad and have hit 154 balls out of the stadium. Houston has a slugging percentage of .439 and have been called out on strikes 896 times, while drawing a walk on 414 occasions. As a squad, the Houston Astros are putting up 5.4 runs per contest, which has them sitting at 1st in baseball. They have 602 RBI's in addition to 1,066 hits so far this season, and their average at the plate comes in at .266. They have a total of 627 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .338.

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The Astros have an ERA of 3.62 for the year (4th in baseball), and the staff has struck out 1,075 batters. They have earned a K/BB ratio of 2.75 and their pitching staff has recorded a WHIP of 1.21. Astros pitchers have given up 138 home runs and 462 runs in total (6th in the league). They have walked 391 batters and their FIP is 4.11 as a unit this season.

Astros pitchers have come into the game with runners on 98 times in addition to having 105 appearances in high leverage situations. The relief pitchers have a total of 52 holds on the campaign (20th in the league). The Astros relief pitchers have a save percentage of 61.0% and stepped onto the hill in 94 save situations. They have accumulated 25 saves so far this year and have missed out on 16 of their 41 save chances. The bullpen pitchers have inherited 150 runners on the campaign and 36.0% of those players crossed home plate. The Astros have dispatched 357 relievers to the mound on the year.

The Houston Astros have a total of 3,126 putouts for the season, in addition to 987 assists and 48 errors. Their fielding percentage sits at .988 which ranks 1st in baseball, and have accumulated 858 double plays. The Astros have transformed 71.8% of balls in play into outs out of their 9,378 innings, which has them sitting 2nd in baseball.

Valdez has taken the mound for 262 innings and is sitting with 259 punch outs in his pro baseball career. His earned run average is 3.84 (112 ER's allowed) and he has a WHIP of 1.344. He has allowed 229 base hits (7.8 hits per nine innings) and has had 124 free passes. Valdez (21-14 win-loss record in his career) holds a FIP of 4.04 while facing 1,134 opposing hitters in the majors.

Kansas City has recorded 116 HRs for the year as well as 447 RBIs. They have hit 163 doubles, while walking 305 times and scoring 473 runs. The Kansas City Royals have tallied a team OBP of .301 and a team batting average of .241 over the course of the season. The Royals hold a team slugging percentage of .385 and they average 4.08 runs per contest (26th in the league). They have been called out on strikes on 930 occasions (28th in baseball) and have earned 928 base hits.

The Royals have a team WHIP of 1.426 in addition to having a FIP of 4.52 as a pitching staff this season. They come in at 21st in the league as a pitching staff in total hits relinquished with 991. The Kansas City pitching staff have given up 583 runs on the campaign while holding a team ERA of 4.94 (553 earned runs conceded). They have earned a strikeout to walk ratio of 2.24 (997 strikeouts vs 445 bases on balls). They have conceded 144 dingers and they concede 5.21 runs per 9 innings (26th in MLB).

Kansas City has called on relievers to step onto the mound in 42 save opportunities and they have converted 25 saves. They are ranked 18th in baseball with a save percentage of 59.5%, and they have dispatched 398 relief pitchers to the hill this year. Their relievers have stepped onto the mound 98 times in high leverage situations and on 108 occasions with base runners. Kansas City relief pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 29.5% of 173 inherited runners. Sitting with 99 save situations, the Royals have earned 57 holds and 17 blown saves.

In 9,063 innings on the field, the Royals have earned a defensive efficiency of 67.8% (28th in pro baseball). The Kansas City Royals have turned 114 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .984 (17th in MLB). The Royals have 1,005 assists, 65 errors and have notched a total of 3,021 putouts this year.

In his career, Lynch has conceded 38 base knocks while totaling 26 K's in 31 frames. Lynch (2-3 career win-loss record) has earned a 5.97 ERA while conceding 10.8 hits per nine innings. He has conceded a total of 21 ER's while earning a WHIP of 1.611 and a FIP of 4.5. His K/BB ratio is 2.00 and he has faced 144 batters in his MLB career.

Who will win tonight's MLB game ATS?

Tony Sink's Pick: Take Houston (-208)

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