Astros Vs Royals: MLB Betting Odds, Trends & Stats – July 7, 2022

The Houston Astros (53-28) will look to Aledmys Diaz, who is on a two-game home run streak, when they face the Kansas City Royals (30-50) at 2:10 PM ET on Thursday at Minute Maid Park. Justin Verlander starts for Houston (-351 to win) while Kansas City (+281) will counter with Kris Bubic.

The betting facts in what follows reference odds valid as of July 7, 2022 at 1:33 PM ET.

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Astros vs Royals Betting Odds

Pitching Matchup

Astros Probable Starter Justin Verlander

• Verlander (10-3 with a 2.03 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 97 1/3 innings pitched) makes the start for the Astros, his 16th of the season.
• The righty’s most recent time out was on Wednesday, June 29 against the New York Mets, when he went 8 2/3 scoreless innings while allowing two hits.
• The 39-year-old has a 2.03 ERA and 8.3 strikeouts per nine innings in 15 games this season, while allowing a batting average of .183 to opposing hitters.
• Verlander is trying to build upon a second-game quality start streak in this game.
• He will face a Royals offense that ranks 27th in the league with 316 runs while batting .240 as a unit. It has a collective .380 slugging percentage (21st in MLB play) and has hit a total of 70 home runs (24th in MLB).
• The 39-year-old’s 2.03 ERA ranks fourth, .832 WHIP ranks third, and 8.3 K/9 ranks 33rd among qualifying pitchers this season.

Starting pitcher projections reflect team information as of July 7, 2022 at 1:33 PM ET and may change up to the start of game.

Royals Stats vs Verlander

Royals Probable Starter Kris Bubic

• The Royals will send Bubic (1-5) to the mound for his 12th start this season.
• The left-hander gave up two earned runs and allowed five hits in 4 2/3 innings pitched against the Detroit Tigers on Saturday.
• The 24-year-old has an ERA of 7.27 and 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings with an opponent batting average of .306 in 12 games this season.
• In 11 starts this season, he’s earned a quality start in one of them.
• The Astros have scored 363 runs this season, which ranks 14th in MLB. They are batting .241 for the campaign with 119 home runs, third in the league.

Starting pitcher projections reflect team information as of July 7, 2022 at 1:33 PM ET and may change up to the start of game.

Astros Stats vs Bubic

Astros Betting Trends

• The Astros have compiled a 46-20 record in games they were favored on the moneyline (winning 69.7% of those games).
• Houston has yet to play as a moneyline favorite of -351 or shorter.
• The implied moneyline probablility in this matchup gives the Astros a 77.8% chance to win.
• In the 81 games bookmakers have set an over/under for Houston, it has combined with opponents to go over the total 29 times (29-49-3).
• The Astros have a 43-38-0 record against the spread this season (covering 53.1% of the time).

Royals Betting Trends

• This season, the Royals have won 25 out of the 67 games, or 37.3%, in which they’ve been the underdog.
• Kansas City has not entered a game this season with longer moneyline odds than +281.
• The Royals have a 26.2% chance to win this game based on the implied probability of the moneyline.
• Kansas City’s games have gone over the total in 40 of their 80 chances.
• The Royals are 36-44-0 ATS in their 80 games with a spread this season.

Astros Players to Watch

• Yordan Alvarez has a team-best OBP (.411) and slugging percentage (.660), and paces the Astros in hits (80). He’s hitting .312 with 10 doubles, two triples, 25 home runs and 41 walks.
• Among the qualified hitters in MLB action, Alvarez’s batting average ranks 12th, his on-base percentage ranks fourth, and he is first in the league in slugging.
• Kyle Tucker has 12 doubles, 16 home runs and 38 walks while hitting .262.
• Among qualified hitters, Tucker ranks 65th in batting average, 39th in on-base percentage, and 29th in slugging.
• Alex Bregman is batting .242 with 17 doubles, 10 home runs and 48 walks.
• Jose Altuve has 15 doubles, 16 home runs and 29 walks while hitting .278.
• Altuve enters this game on a five-game hitting streak. In his last five games he is batting .429 with two doubles, a home run, three walks and three RBI.

Astros Batting Stats (2022)

Royals Players to Watch

• Andrew Benintendi leads Kansas City in OBP (.387), slugging percentage (.404) and OPS (.791) this season.
• Among all qualifying hitters in the majors, Benintendi is sixth in batting average, 11th in on-base percentage, and 93rd in slugging percentage.
• Whit Merrifield is batting .236 with a .334 slugging percentage and 34 RBI this year.
• Among all qualified players, Merrifield’s batting average puts him 110th, his on-base percentage is 133rd, and he is 143rd in slugging.
• Bobby Witt Jr. has 70 hits this season and has a slash line of .236/.286/.444.
• Hunter Dozier leads Kansas City in total hits (70) this season while batting .267 with 28 extra-base hits.

Royals Batting Stats (2022)

Astros vs Royals Player Props

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