Kansas City Royals vs Houston Astros Prediction, Preview and Odds - 08/30/2024

Game Time: 8:10 pm ET, Friday, August 30, 2024

Venue:  Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX

Where to Watch:  BSKC

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Royals +130, Astros -155; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Royals +125, Astros -150; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Royals +125, Astros -155; Over/Under:  7.5 runs

Kansas City Royals:  75-59 (2nd place, AL Central)

Houston Astros:  71-62 (1st place, AL West)

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Kansas City Royals:  6-4 last 10

Houston Astros:  4-6 last 10

The Royals are entering this series off a loss and won their 4-game series against the Cleveland Guardians 3-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 75-59 record overall and have a road record of 34-31. This is the 2nd game of a 4-game series with the Astros on Friday with the series opener of this series still to be played on Thursday. Their offense ranks 10th in the MLB with a .739 OPS. Brady Singer is their starting pitcher on Thursday while Seth Lugo is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 14-8 with a 3.19 ERA this season. His team lost 3 of their last 4 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 5 ER, 0 HR, and 1 BB with 3 Ks on 11 hits through 5.1 IP against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Astros are entering this series off a win and lost their 3-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies 2-1 in their last series. They enter this game with a 71-62 record overall and have a home record of 35-29. This is the 2nd game of a 4-game series with the Royals on Friday with the 1st game of this series still to be played on Thursday. Their offense ranks 9th in the MLB with a .740 OPS. Hunter Brown is their starting pitcher on Thursday while Framber Valdez is making his start in this game on Friday. He is 13-6 with a 3.27 ERA this season. His team won 10 of their last 11 games this season with him making an appearance. In his last MLB regular season start, he allowed 3 earned runs, 0 homers, and 1 BB with 8 strikeouts on 6 hits through 5.2 innings played against the Baltimore Orioles.

The current betting odds have the Astros listed as a favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. The Astros have looked good in their games this season with their 71-62 record overall which leads the AL West by a few games. They are fighting off the Mariners in 2nd place who are trying to catch them, but the Astros have looked better in their home games this year with their 35-29 home record. Meanwhile, the Royals have looked great in their games this season with their 75-59 record overall which has them in 2nd place of the AL Central and fighting for a Wild Card spot, but also chasing down the Guardians in 1st place who do not have a big lead. The Royals haven't looked as good in their road games with their 34-31 road record though. They have been the slightly hotter team coming into this series, but the Astros did win the last game of their series against the Phillies and will have some momentum coming into this one. They also have the slightly better pitching matchup with Valdez on the mound. Valdez is 13-6 with a 3.27 ERA this season and has been really reliable for the Astros all year. He did give up 3 earned runs in his last start, but he hasn't been giving up many runs in his starts lately and the team has won 10 of their last 11 games with him starting too. Lugo is on the mound for the Royals here and he has also been a stud all season, but lately he hasn't looked great. He is 14-8 with a 3.19 ERA but has been picking up more losses lately. The team has lost 3 of the last 4 games he started in and he hasn't looked great himself either, giving up 5 earned runs in his last start. The Astros are going to be looking to bounce back at home after losing their last series in Philadelphia and this is a pitching matchup they can take advantage of here. The best way to place a bet here is on the Astros to win this game. 

Royals Astros Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Friday, August 30, 2024 (8:10 pm ET start time) is Astros 5 Royals 1.

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Kansas City Royals: Will be posted by 12:00pm ET, 08/30/2024.

Houston Astros: Will be posted by 12:00pm ET, 08/30/2024.

Kansas City Royals:  C. Ragans (SP) Ques Thurs - Hamstring. M. Lorenzen (RP) Out indefinitely - Hamstring. W. Smith (RP) Out indefinitely - Back. H. Renfroe (RF) Out indefinitely - Hamstring. H. Harvey (RP) Out indefinitely - Back. D. Altavilla (RP) Mid Sep - Oblique. K. Wright (SP) out for season - Shoulder. J. Taylor (RP) Late June - Bicep.

Houston Astros:  J. France (SP) Out indefinitely - Shoulder. R. Pressly (RP) Out indefinitely - Back. L. McCullers Jr. (SP) out of season - Forearm. K. Tucker (RF) Out indefinitely - Shin. K. Graveman (RP) out for season - Shoulder. C. Javier (SP) out of season - Forearm. J. Urquidy (SP) out for season - Forearm. B. Sousa (RP) out for season - Shoulder. O. Ortega (RP) Late July - Elbow. P. Murfee (SP) Mid July - Elbow. L. Garcia (SP) Mid July - Elbow.

“Tough way for us to go out, but we came in here and did what we needed to do. I think we have their respect and they have ours. It’s going to be a fun month.” - Vinnie Pasquantino after his team’s loss against the Guardians in their game on Wednesday.

“He was magnificent.” - Joe Espada on Spencer Arrighetti after his team’s win against the Phillies in their game on Wednesday.

Michael Massey (L) 2B

Bobby Witt Jr. (R) SS

Vinnie Pasquantino (L) 1B

Salvador Perez (R) DH

MJ Melendez (L) LF

Paul DeJong (R) 3B

Adam Frazier (L) RF

Freddy Fermin (R) C

Kyle Isbel (L) CF

Jose Altuve (R) 2B

Yordan Alvarez (L) DH

Alex Bregman (R) 3B

Jeremy Peña (R) SS

Victor Caratini (S) C

Ben Gamel (L) RF

Jake Meyers (R) CF

Zach Dezenzo (R) 1B

Mauricio Dubón (R) LF

Batting Average:  Bobby Witt (.346)

Hits:  Bobby Witt (185)

Home Runs:  Bobby Witt (28)

RBI:  Vinnie Pasquantino (97)

Stolen Bases:  Maikel Garcia (32)

Wins:  Seth Lugo (14)

Saves:  James McArthur (18)

ERA:  Jordan Lyles (0.00)

Batting Average:  Ben Gamel (.435)

Hits:  Jose Altuve (158)

Home Runs:  Yordan Alvarez (28)

RBI:  Yainer Diaz (72)

Stolen Bases:  Jose Altuve (20)

Wins:  Framber Valdez (13)

Saves:  Josh Hader (28)

ERA:  Dylan Coleman (0.00)

Managers:

Kansas City Royals: Matt Quatraro (2nd season)

Houston Astros: Joe Espada (1st season)