Kansas City Royals at Houston Astros MLB Picks 5/7/2019

Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Minute Maid Park
Get todays MLB odds and lines on this game.
Probable Pitchers: Danny Duffy vs. Collin McHugh
The Kansas City Royals visit Minute Maid Park on Tuesday, May 7, 2019 to play the Houston Astros. The probable starters are Danny Duffy for the Royals and Collin McHugh for the Astros.
The opening line for this matchup has Kansas City at +212 and Houston at -230. The Royals have a 20-14-1 over/under record and a 19-16-0 run line mark. The Astros are 14-20-0 against the run line and have a 14-19-1 over/under record.
Valuable Kansas City Royals Betting Trends
The Kansas City Royals are 20-14-1 against the over/under
The Kansas City Royals are 19-16-0 against the run line
Important Houston Astros Betting Trends
The Houston Astros are 14-19-1 against the over/under
The Houston Astros are 14-20-0 against the run line
Key Kansas City Royals Injuries
04/27/19 1B Lucas Duda Back 10-day IL (04/24)
03/25/19 C Salvador Perez Elbow is out for season
03/25/19 P Trevor Oaks Hip 60-day IL (03/25)
03/25/19 P Brian Flynn Elbow 10-day IL (03/25)
03/25/19 P Eric Skoglund Suspension 80 game suspension
03/25/19 P Jesse Hahn Elbow 60-day IL (03/25)
Key Houston Astros Injuries
03/28/19 P Joe Smith Achilles 10-day IL (03/25)
03/28/19 P Lance McCullers Jr Elbow 10-day IL (03/25); is out for season
Useful Pitching Statistics
The Royals have a 12-23 overall record this season. Starting pitcher Danny Duffy has a 0-1 record with an earned run average of 3.27 and a WHIP of 1.36 this season. He has 7 strikeouts over his 11 innings pitched and he's given up 11 hits. He's allowed 9 hits per 9 innings and he has a FIP of 4.15. The bullpen has an earned run average of 5.14 and they have given up 120 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .273 against the bullpen and they've struck out 105 hitters and walked 53 batters. As a team, Kansas City allows 9.1 hits per nine innings while striking out 7.9 batters per nine innings. They are 26th in the league in team earned run average at 5.01. The Royals pitchers collectively have given up 312 base hits and 172 earned runs. They have allowed 41 home runs this season, ranking them 19th in the league. Kansas City as a pitching staff has walked 130 batters and struck out 272. They have walked 3.8 men per 9 innings while striking out 7.9 per 9. They have a team WHIP of 1.43 and their FIP as a unit is 4.58.
Hitting Statistics
As a team Kansas City is hitting .244, good for 17th in the league. The Royals hold a .430 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .318, which is good for 19th in baseball. They rank 20th in MLB with 8.2 hits per game. Jorge Soler is hitting .254 with an on-base percentage of .297. He has 34 hits this season in 134 at bats with 23 runs batted in. He has a slugging percentage of .507 and an OPS+ of 112. Whit Merrifield is hitting .285 this year and he has an on-base percentage of .342. He has totaled 41 hits and he has driven in 14 men in 144 at bats. His OPS+ is 127 while his slugging percentage is at .514. The Royals have 288 hits, including 60 doubles and 40 home runs. Kansas City has walked 122 times so far this season and they have struck out 302 times as a unit. They have left 230 men on base and have a team OPS of .748. They score 4.69 runs per contest and have scored a total of 164 runs this year.
Useful Pitching Statistics
Houston has a 20-14 overall mark this year. With an earned run average of 4.97, Collin McHugh has a 3-3 record and a 1.05 WHIP. He has 39 strikeouts over the 38 innings he's pitched. He also has given up 29 hits. He's allowing 6.9 hits per nine innings and his FIP stands at 4.59. The bullpen has an earned run average of 2.91 and they have given up 69 base hits on the year. Teams are hitting .198 against the Astros bullpen. Their relievers have struck out 102 batters and walked 29 opposing hitters. As a team, Houston allows 6.8 hits per nine innings while striking out 9.4 batters per nine innings. They are 3rd in the league in team earned run average at 3.59. The Astros pitchers as a team have surrendered 225 base knocks and 118 earned runs this season. They have given up 40 home runs this year, which ranks 21st in Major League Baseball. Houston as a staff has walked 83 hitters and struck out 309 batters. They give up a walk 2.5 times per 9 innings while they strike out 9.4 per 9. Their team WHIP is 1.04 while their FIP as a staff is 3.75.
Hitting Statistics
As a team, they are batting .273, good for 1st in the league. The Astros hold a .485 team slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .346, which is good for 3rd in baseball. They rank 2nd in MLB with 9.3 hits per contest. Michael Brantley comes into this matchup batting .336 with an OBP of .380. He has 44 hits this year along with 24 RBI in 131 AB's. He maintains a slugging percentage of .565 with an OPS+ of 154. George Springer is hitting .280 this season and he has an OBP of .366. He has collected 37 hits in 132 at bats while driving in 27 runs. He has an OPS+ of 148 and a slugging percentage of .561. The Astros as a unit have 315 base hits, including 67 doubles and 57 homers. Houston has walked 125 times this year and they have struck out on 251 occasions. They have had 241 men left on base and have an OPS of .831. They have scored 5.03 runs per game and totaled 171 runs this season.
Who will win tonight's Royals/Astros MLB game against the spread?
Guy's Pick: Take the Royals +212
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