Kansas City Royals vs Houston Astros Prediction, 7/7/2022 MLB Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Houston Astros

Date: Thursday, July 7, 2022

Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

TV: AT&T SportsNet Southwest

The Kansas City Royals (29-50) are on their way to Minute Maid Park on Thursday where they will try to defeat the Houston Astros (53-27). The expected starting pitchers are Kris Bubic and Justin Verlander.

The Royals have compiled 124 doubles as a unit and have hit 67 balls out of the stadium. Kansas City has a slugging percentage of .377 and have been called out on strikes 600 times, while taking a walk on 242 occasions. As a squad, the Kansas City Royals are scoring 3.9 runs per game, which ranks them 27th in the league. They have 295 runs batted in and 640 hits over the course of the season, and their average at the plate comes in at .240. They have a total of 309 runs while holding a team on-base percentage of .306.

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The Royals have a team earned run average of 4.98 so far this year (27th in MLB), and their staff has rung up 572 hitters. Their pitching staff has walked 311 opposing hitters and their FIP comes in at 4.57 as a unit so far this year. Their K/BB ratio is 1.84 and the pitching staff sits with a WHIP of 1.48. Royals pitchers have given up 87 home runs in addition to 411 total runs (26th in baseball).

The Royals relief pitchers have recorded a save rate of 60.7% and has entered the game in 74 save situations. The relief pitchers have inherited 165 base runners over the course of the season and 29.7% of those players crossed home plate. Royals bullpen pitchers have gone to the mound with runners on 104 times in addition to having 92 appearances in high leverage situations. The Royals have sent 286 relief pitchers to the mound so far this year. The relievers have racked up 43 holds this season (16th in the league). They have recorded 17 saves for the season and have missed out on 11 of 28 save opportunities.

The Kansas City Royals have accumulated 2,082 putouts this year, as well as 721 assists and 35 errors. Their fielding percentage is holding steady at .988 which is 6th in the majors, and they have turned 64 double plays. The Royals have transformed 68.7% of baseballs in play into outs out of their 6,246 innings on the field, ranking them 23rd in the majors.

Bubic (8-18 career mark) sits with a FIP of 5.08 and he has faced 984 hitters during his time in the major leagues. He has given up 228 base hits (9.2 hits per 9 innings) and has had 107 free passes. His ERA is 4.92 (122 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.500. Bubic has taken the ball for 223 innings and is sitting with 200 strikeouts in his career.

The Astros have a team slugging percentage of .430 and they are recording 4.49 runs per contest (13th in the league). They have notched 129 doubles, while taking a walk 283 times as well as scoring 359 runs. Houston has a total of 118 home runs this season to go along with 351 runs batted in. They have been rung up on 595 occasions (28th in the league) and have tallied 641 hits. The Houston Astros have an on-base percentage of .320 in addition to a batting average of .242 this year.

The Astros have a WHIP of 1.104 and have a FIP of 3.56 as a unit so far this year. They rank 1st in baseball as a staff in total hits conceded with 551. The Houston pitching staff have conceded 266 runs on the season while holding an ERA of 2.97 (234 earned runs relinquished). They currently have a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.04 (703 strikeouts vs 231 free passes). They have given up 71 long balls and they yield 3.38 runs per 9 innings (3rd in the league).

Houston has had relievers take the mound in 30 save chances and they have come away with 24 saves. They are currently ranked 1st in the league with a save percentage of 80.0%, and they have sent 243 bullpen pitchers onto the diamond on the season. Their relievers have stepped onto the mound 80 times in high leverage situations in addition to 52 occasions with runners on base. Houston bullpen pitchers have an inherited score percentage of 25.6% out of their 78 inherited runners. With 83 save situations, the Astros have earned 53 holds and 6 blown saves.

The Houston Astros have gotten 59 double plays and have a fielding percentage of .986 (13th in the majors). The Astros have recorded 634 assists, 40 errors and have 2,126 putouts so far this season. In 6,378 innings on the field, the Astros have earned a defensive efficiency of 72.6% (1st in pro baseball).

Verlander (236-132 record in his career) holds a 3.29 ERA while giving up 7.6 hits per 9 innings. He has a K/BB ratio of 3.57 and he has gone up against 12,586 hitters so far in his pro baseball career. He has allowed 1,127 earned runs while earning a WHIP of 1.125 and having a FIP of 3.4. In his pro baseball career, Verlander has surrendered 2,602 base knocks and he has 3,103 punch outs in 3,085 frames.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread or moneyline?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kansas City

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