Kansas City Royals vs Houston Astros Prediction, 8/23/2021 MLB Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: Kansas City Royals vs Houston Astros

Date: Monday, August 23, 2021

Location: Minute Maid Park in Houston, TX

TV: AT&T SportsNet Southwest

Odds/Point Spread: Kansas City (+220) Houston (-303)

Zack Greinke and the Houston Astros (73-50, 1st in AL West) play the Kansas City Royals (54-68, 4th in AL Central) at Minute Maid Park on Monday. The Royals open this matchup at +220 while the Astros are coming in at -303. The over/under is set at 8.5. The expected starting pitchers will be Daniel Lynch and Zack Greinke.

Kansas City has a slugging rate of .388 and have been called out on strikes 966 times, while being walked on 316 occasions. They have tallied 470 RBI's in addition to 981 hits on the season, and their team batting average is sitting at .243. The Royals have accounted for 173 doubles as a team and have knocked 124 balls out of the stadium. They have notched a total of 499 runs scored while holding a team OBP of .302. As a team, the Kansas City Royals are knocking in 4.1 runs per game, which has them at 24th in the league.

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The Royals have an earned run average of 4.83 over the course of the season (26th in the league), and their staff has rung up 1,043 batters. They have walked 459 opposing batters and their FIP is 4.46 as a team so far this year. Their strikeout to walk ratio is 2.27 and their pitching staff has earned a collective WHIP of 1.40. Royals pitchers have given up 149 long balls and 602 runs (22nd in baseball).

The Royals relievers have earned a save percentage of 60.9% and has stepped onto the mound in 109 save situations. The relievers have inherited 181 base runners so far this year with 29.8% of those players ended up scoring. Royals bullpen pitchers have stepped onto the hill with runners on 114 times and also have had 113 appearances in high leverage situations. The Royals have sent 417 relievers to the hill on the campaign. The relievers have racked up 63 holds on the campaign (14th in MLB). They have accumulated 28 saves for the season and have missed out on 18 of their 46 chances to save the game.

The Royals have transformed 68.1% of baseballs in play into outs in their 9,558 innings, which ranks them 28th in professional baseball. The Kansas City Royals have accounted for 3,186 putouts on the year, as well as 1,070 assists and 66 errors. Their fielding percentage is currently at .985 which puts them in 15th in MLB, and they have twisted 837 double plays.

Lynch has taken the mound for 38 innings and has earned 31 strikeouts so far in his career. Lynch (3-3 win-loss record in his career) holds a FIP of 4.24 and he has faced 169 batters in the majors. His ERA is 5.12 (22 earned runs allowed) and he has a career WHIP of 1.500. He has given up 42 hits (9.8 hits per nine innings) and has 16 free passes.

The Astros have a SLG% of .444 and they average 5.44 runs per game (1st in the league). They have notched 233 two-baggers, while taking a walk 433 times and putting up 669 runs. Houston has tallied 163 home runs on the campaign as well as 643 runs batted in. They have been called out on strikes on 929 instances (30th in MLB) and are sitting with 1,132 hits. The Houston Astros have accumulated an on-base percentage of .340 in addition to a batting average of .268 for the season.

The Houston pitching staff have allowed 482 runs this season while holding an ERA of 3.61 (439 earned runs allowed). They have conceded 144 long balls and they give up 3.97 runs per 9 innings (4th in the league). The Astros hold a team WHIP of 1.207 and are the owners of a FIP of 4.09 as a pitching staff on the season. They currently have a K/BB ratio of 2.77 (1,121 strikeouts against 404 walks). They rank 6th in baseball as a pitching staff in total hits given up with 917.

Houston relief pitchers hold an inherited score percentage of 35.3% of 153 inherited base runners. Their relievers have stepped onto the mound 111 times in high leverage situations and also on 101 occasions with runners on. With 96 save situations, the Astros have earned 52 holds and 17 blown saves. They rank 17th in MLB with a save percentage of 60.5%, and they have sent 373 relievers to the hill this season. Houston has called on relief pitchers to enter the game in 43 save chances and they have tallied 26 saves.

The Houston Astros have turned 87 double plays and hold a fielding percentage of .989 (1st in pro baseball). The Astros have racked up 1,049 assists, 48 errors and have accumulated 3,282 putouts so far this year. In their 9,846 innings on the diamond, the Astros are sitting with a defensive efficiency of 71.8% (3rd in professional baseball).

Greinke (219-129 win-loss mark in his career) holds a 3.37 earned run average and has surrendered 8.3 hits per nine innings. He has a strikeout to walk ratio of 3.97 and he has faced 12,600 opposing batters so far in his career. He has given up 1,157 ER's while holding a WHIP of 1.156 and having a FIP of 3.4. So far in his career, Greinke has surrendered 2,865 hits while accumulating 2,796 strikeouts in 3,088 innings pitched.

Who will win tonight's MLB game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Kansas City (+220)

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