Astros at Royals 6/15/18 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Houston Astros will visit the Kansas City Royals on Friday to start a three-game series.

On Wednesday, the Astros won their seventh straight game defeating the Oakland A’s 13-5. Houston is now just a half game behind Seattle in the American League West. Evan Gattis hit a pair of home runs and combined for back to back home runs with Marwin Gonzalez in Houston’s seven run second inning.

Kansas City lost its third straight game on Wednesday falling to Cincinnati 7-0. The Royals were swept in the short two-game interleague series with the Reds. Kansas City is off Thursday before hosting the Astros on Friday. Jose Altuve leads the Astros with a team high .336 batting average and 94 hits. George Springer leads the team in home runs with 14 and Evan Gattis leads in RBIs with 42. Houston has a team batting average of .262 while opposing hitters are averaging .212 at the plate against Astros pitching. On Friday, the Astros will send Charlie Morton to the mound. The right-hander this season is 7-1 with an ERA of 2.82, 96 Ks and 29 BBs.

Whit Merrifield leads the Royals with a .294 batting average and team high 75 hits. Mike Moustakas has the team lead in home runs with 13 and RBIs with 42. Kansas City has a team batting average of .245 while opposing hitters are averaging .277 at the plate against Royals pitching. On Friday, the Royals will send Jakob Junis to the mound. This season the right-hander is 5-6 with an ERA of 4.05, 76 Ks and 19 BBs.