Kansas City Royals at Houston Astros 8/23/21 - MLB Picks & Predictions

The Kansas City Royals open a three-game series on the road Monday against the Houston Astros. Kansas City is 54-68 following a 4-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday. Kansas City has won each of the first two games of its interleague series against Chicago and the Royals have won five of the last six overall. Kansas City is fourth in the American League Central 17 games behind the first-place Chicago White Sox.

Nicky Lopez is batting .279 to lead Kansas City and the second baseman has a team-high .347 on-base percentage. Catcher Salvador Paris is the leader in home runs with 32 and RBIs with 80, while right fielder Whit Merrifield is the leader in hits with 135. On Monday, Kansas City will send Daniel Lynch to the mound. The left-hander is 3-3 with an ERA of 5.12, 31 Ks and 16 BBs.

Houston improved to 73-50 following its 15-1 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Saturday. Rookie Taylor Jones had four RBIs and the Astros have outscored Seattle in the first two games of this series by a combined score of 27-4. Houston has won three straight and the Astros are first in the American League West 3 ½ games ahead of the second-place Oakland Athletics.

Michael Brantley is batting .323 to lead Houston and the left fielder has a team-high 127 hits. Second baseman Jose Altuve is the leader in home runs with 25, while designated hitter Yordan Alvarez is the leader in RBIs with 84 and first baseman Yuli Gurriel is the leader in on-base percentage at .377. On Monday, Houston will send Zack Greinke to the mound. The right-hander is 11-3 with an ERA of 3.43, 107 Ks and 29 BBs.