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Astros, Royals meet in Kansas City on Friday
By: Staff Writer - StatFox
Published: 6/24/2016  at  12:42:00 PM
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By Michael Rothman

HOUSTON ASTROS (37-36)

at KANSAS CITY ROYALS (38-33)

First pitch: Friday, 8:15 p.m. ET
Line: Houston -120, Kansas City +110, Total: 8.0

Houston comes to Kansas City to start a three-game series with the Astros on Friday.

The Astros come into the series on a hot streak, winning eight of the last ten games. They have won five straight, but still remain 10 games back of the division lead. Houston has not been a good road team, going 15-21 when away from home. Kansas City, meanwhile, is coming into the series on a two-game losing streak. Despite the two game skid, the Royals have won seven of the last ten games. They remain three games back of the division lead, but they own the best home record in the league (25-8). The Royals are leading the season series against Houston 3-1 after winning the four-game season opening series in Houston. The two teams squared off in the ALDS last season, when the Royals won the series in five games and then went on to win the World Series. The pitching matchup tonight features Houston’s LHP Dallas Keuchel (3-9, 5.32 ERA, 87 K) against Kansas City’s RHP Edinson Volquez (7-6, 4.12 ERA, 73 K). The two pitchers squared off in Game 3 of the ALDS last year, when Keuchel won the game for the Astros by throwing seven innings and only gave up one run.

The reigning AL Cy Young award winner, Dallas Keuchel, is not pitching like a player deserving of the award this season. In fact, he has been one of the worst starters in the league because he has the second most losses (9) in baseball. His last three games have not gone well. He has an 0-2 record with a 4.66 ERA over the three games. The month of June will be one he will want to forget because he has not been able to win a game all month. The one positive for Keuchel in this game is that he is 3-1 with a 3.15 ERA against Kansas City, but two of those wins came last season when he was a very different pitcher. The Astros will look to some of their hot hitters to score some runs and take the pressure off Keuchel. 2B Jose Altuve (.343, 12 HR, 41 RBI) has been hot all season and he has hit Kansas City well this season, batting .471 with two homers and four RBI in four games. Altuve has also hit Volquez well in his career, hitting .429 at the plate. SS Carlos Correa (.262, 11 HR, 40 RBI) is getting hot right now, hitting .318 with three homers and eight RBI in the last seven days. Look for OF Colby Rasmus (.233, 9 HR, 37 RBI) to have a big night because he has hit .357 with one homer and six RBIs against Volquez.

Edinson Volquez has been one of Kansas City’s best starters this season and he leads the team in wins (7). He has pitched well at home all season, going 5-2 with a 2.61 ERA. The team is 7-2 at home when he starts. His last start, however, did not go well against Detroit when he gave up five runs in 6.1 innings, but the team provided him with 16 runs which allowed him to get the win. Volquez has thrown great games in his career against Houston. He has a 6-1 record with a 2.89 ERA when facing the Astros. Volquez will hope for the same run support that he got from his hitters in his last outing. 1B Eric Hosmer (.305, 12 HR, 44 RBI) is leading the team in BA, HR, RBI, and OBP. He will be looking for a big game tonight because he has hit .667 against Keuchel in his career. DH Kendrys Morales (.225, 8 HR, 32 RBI) is hitting .583 with one HR and eight RBIs over the last seven days. Keep an eye out for OF Lorenzo Cain (.283, 8 HR, 37 RBI) as well because he is a career .417 hitter with one homer and two RBI against Keuchel.


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