Kansas City Royals vs Houston Astros Prediction, Preview and Odds - 07/07/2022

Game Time: 2:10 pm ET, Thursday, July 7, 2022

Venue:  Minute Maid Park, Houston, TX 

Where to Watch:  MLB Network

DraftKings:  Moneyline odds:  Royals +245, Astros -295; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

Bet365:  Moneyline odds:  Royals +245, Astros -295; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

BetMGM:  Moneyline odds:  Royals +245, Astros -295; Over/Under:  8.5 runs

 

Kansas City Royals:  29-50 (5th place, AL Central)

Houston Astros:  53-27 (1st place, AL West)

 

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Kansas City Royals:  3-7 last 10

Houston Astros:  9-1 last 10

 

 

 

 

The Royals enter this game on a 2 game losing streak. They won their last series against the Detroit Tigers 2-1 in a 3-game series. They enter this game with a 29-50 record overall and have a road record of 15-25. This is the series finale of a 4-game series with the Astros on Thursday with the 3rd game still to be played on Wednesday. Their offense ranks 24th in the MLB with a .683 OPS. Brad Keller is their starting pitcher on Wednesday while Kris Bubic is making his start in this game on Thursday. He is 1-5 with a 7.06 ERA this season. His team lost their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last start, he allowed 2 ER, 0 HR, and 3 BB with 4 Ks on 5 hits through 4.2 IP against the Detroit Tigers. 

 

The Astros enter this game on an 8 game winning streak. They won their last series against the Los Angeles Angels 3-0 completing the sweep in a 3-game series. They enter this game with a 53-27 record overall and have a home record of 26-11. This is the 4th game of a 4-game series with the Royals on Thursday with the 3rd game still to be played on Wednesday. Their offense ranks 5th in the MLB with a .750 OPS. Cristian Javier is on the mound on Wednesday while Justin Verlander will be throwing the first pitch in this game on Thursday. He is 10-3 with a 2.03 ERA this season. His team won their last 2 straight games this season with him making an appearance. In his last start, he allowed 0 ER, 0 HR, and 1 BB with 6 Ks on 2 hits through 8 IP against the New York Mets. 

The current betting odds have the Astros listed as a massive favorite in this game. They have been heating up recently as they just continue to win games, even when they are down by a lot like they have been a few times in this series, they still come out on top. Their bats are awake now as they have not been hitting great this season and have been relying on their great pitching staff but now they are scoring a lot of runs in their games too and they look to be unstoppable right now. The Astros have not been pitching well in their recent games but that will not be a worry here with Verlander on the mound and he has been having another great season to add to his career. Bubic is starting for the Royals and he has been awful this season with an ERA north of 7 he has done nothing but allow a lot of runs in every start. The Astros are rolling now and they will not be stopped by a team like the Royals in this situation. The best way to place a bet here is on the Astros on the runline.

 

Royals Astros Prediction:  Our MLB Pick for Thursday, July 7, 2022 (2:10 pm ET start time) is Astros 4 Royals 0.

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Kansas City Royals: 29-50 (-16.3 Units) ML in all games. 21-42 (-13.3 Units) ML as an underdog of +100 or higher. 31-20 UNDER as an underdog of +175 to +250.

Houston Astros: 53-27 (+16 Units) ML in all games. 46-18 (+16.5 Units) ML as a favorite of -110 or higher. 48-28 UNDER in all games.

 

 

Kansas City Royals:  A. Mondesi (SS) out for season - Knee. S. Perez (C) Late Aug - Thumb. D. Lynch (RP) Out indefinitely - Finger.

Houston Astros:  J. Castro (C) Out indefinitely - Knee. J. James (RP) Mid Aug - Back. M. Brantley (LF) Mid July - Shoulder.

 

 

 

"Stuff felt pretty sharp but I made a lot of mistakes and didn't really make a lot of quality strikes. I think ... they had 10 hits or something and at least like eight of them were mistakes." - Zack Greinke after their loss against the Astros on Tuesday.

 

 

"It all goes back to work. And he's worked on it. He's worked on his defense a lot." - Dusty Baker after his team’s win against the Royals on Tuesday.

 

 

 

Whit Merrifield (R) 2B

Andrew Benintendi (L) LF

Bobby Witt Jr. (R) SS

Vinnie Pasquantino (L) 1B

Hunter Dozier (R) DH

MJ Melendez (L) C

Kyle Isbel (L) RF

Michael A. Taylor (R) CF

Nicky Lopez (L) 3B

 

Jose Altuve (R) 2B

Jeremy Pena (R) SS

Yordan Alvarez (L) LF

Alex Bregman (R) 3B

Kyle Tucker (L) RF

Yuli Gurriel (R) DH

Aledmys Diaz (R) 1B

Jake Meyers (R) CF

Martin Maldonado (R) C

 

 

Batting Average:  Andrew Benintendi (.313)

Hits:  Andrew Benintendi (92)

Home Runs:  Bobby Witt (12)

RBI:  Bobby Witt (42)

Stolen Bases:  Whit Merrifield (14)

Wins:  Collin Snider (4)

Saves:  Scott Barlow (12)

ERA:  Jose Cuas (1.98)

 

Batting Average:  Yordan Alvarez (.313)

Hits:  Yordan Alvarez (79)

Home Runs:  Yordan Alvarez (25)

RBI:  Yordan Alvarez (58)

Stolen Bases:  Kyle Tucker (14)

Wins:  Justin Verlander (10)

Saves:  Ryan Pressly (17)

ERA:  Ryne Stanek (0.67)

 

Managers:

Kansas City Royals: Mike Matheny (3rd season)

Houston Astros: Dusty Baker (3rd season)