Kansas City Royals vs. Houston Astros Prediction:
The Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals are in battles for the playoffs and wrap up their series in Houston on Sunday.
Ronel Blanco starts for the Astros. He enters with a 3.14 ERA that may not be able to be maintained as it comes with a 4.34 fielding independent.
Top MLB Resources:
Blanco is issuing 3.6 walks per game with a .216 opponents batting average on balls in play, the lowest for qualifying pitchers in the American League.
Blanco looks to tame a Royals offense that ranks seventh in the league with 4.85 runs per game. Since the All-Star Break, their .277 batting average and nearly 5.6 runs per game entering Saturday is second in the league.
The Houston Astros .256 batting average since the All-Star Break is sixth in the league. This season, they are 11th in runs per game at home with 4.7 runs per game.
Alec Marsh gets the start for Kansas City. Marsh hasn’t pitched into the sixth inning since July 10, posting a 4.67 ERA with 1.3 home runs per nine innings allowed.
Entering Saturday, the Royals bullpen was 25th in the league with a 4.45 ERA. With the way the Royals are functioning on offense, Sunday will be a hard-hitting series finale.
MLB Pick: Kansas City Royals vs. Houston Astros Over 8.5 Runs
To find more baseball value bets and MLB picks, visit Greg Peterson’s daily MLB lines.
