Having lost their division leadership to the Los Angeles Angels, the Houston Astros (54-43) have some work to do to recapture their dominance in the American League West. Unlike the Astros, the Kansas City Royals (57-37) are sitting pretty atop the AL Central, and they will be looking to pad their lead in the division more as they host Houston for a three-game home set.
Read on for a detailed preview of this game. You can also click here for an overview of tonight’s matchup between the Nats and the Pirates.
[sc:MLBArticles ]Houston Astros vs. Kansas City Royals Preview
Where: Kauffman Stadium, Kansas City
When: Friday, July 24, 2015, 8:10 PM ET
Line: Houston Astros vs. Kansas City Royals – view all MLB lines
Betting on the Houston Astros
[sc:MLB240banner ]Scott Feldman (4-5, 4.93 ERA) hopes that he has already shaken off the rust after making his first start in almost two months. Feldman, who was put on the 15-day disabled list to recuperate from a knee injury, made his second half debut on July 18, picking up a loss in the Astros’ 7-6 defeat to Texas.
Against the Rangers, Feldman lasted for just 5.2 innings, as he allowed four earned runs on nine hits and struck out only two batters. Feldman’s propensity for giving up a lot of hits, however, is normal because he’s more of a groundball pitcher. The key for Feldman has always been getting easy groundouts, which he obviously had a hard time of doing against Texas.
Perhaps a start at Kauffman Stadium, where Feldman has performed well in his career, is all the righty needs to get back on track. The 10-year veteran is 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA across seven career starts at Kauffman Stadium.
As for the offense, Feldman hopes that the Astros sustain their recovery from a bad slump towards the end of the first half. The Astros went 1-8 in their last nine games before the All-Star break, wherein they averaged a measly 2.3 runs. It’s a different story now for the Astros, though, as they’ve ramped up their scoring, putting up 6.0 runs in their first six games of the second half while hitting .290 at the plate as a team.
Houston is 3-0 in its last three games at Kauffman Stadium.
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Betting on the Kansas City Royals
There have been many times this season that Jeremy Guthrie looked prime for a demotion. Bur for some reason, the Royals are keeping their faith with the 11-year veteran. With a towering 5.36 ERA, albeit with a 7-5 record, Guthrie enters tonight’s matchup with Houston looking to strengthen his case for remaining a part of the Royals’ rotation. It sure helps his cause that the Royals are 4-0 in his last four starts overall.
Guthrie has actually pitched better than his ERA suggests, as evidenced by his 4.70 FIP and 2.59 walks allowed per nine innings. He’s also gradually lowered his ERA ever since reaching the atrocious 6.70 plateau in late May. That being said, Guthrie’s room for error is very slim and he has to pitch sharper than in his last outing.
In five innings of work against the White Sox on July 18, Guthrie allowed three earned runs on nine hits, though he walked just one, in a 7-6 Kansas City victory. Fortunately for Guthrie, the offense was there to cover up for his shortcomings with Lorenzo Cain batting 3-for-5 and Eric Hosmer going 2-for-7.
Guthrie looks to have the same run cushion when he takes on the Astros. After all, the Royals’ offense has apparently spoiled him of late, as he has received 6.87 RS/9 in three starts this month.
Kansas City is 8-2 in its last 10 home games.
Writer’s Prediction
Houston wins, 6-5.
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