Royals look to stop losing streak in game against the Astros

Kansas City Royals (75-61, second in the AL Central) vs. Houston Astros (73-62, first in the AL West)

Houston; Saturday, 7:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Cole Ragans (10-8, 3.28 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 187 strikeouts); Astros: Yusei Kikuchi (6-9, 4.39 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 165 strikeouts)

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Astros -186, Royals +156; over/under is 7 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Kansas City Royals look to end their three-game skid with a victory over the Houston Astros.

Houston is 73-62 overall and 37-29 in home games. Astros hitters are batting a collective .261, the highest team batting average in the AL.

Kansas City is 34-33 in road games and 75-61 overall. The Royals have the third-ranked team batting average in the AL at .256.

The matchup Saturday is the sixth time these teams meet this season. The Royals hold a 3-2 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Yordan Alvarez has 29 doubles, two triples, 28 home runs and 71 RBI for the Astros. Jon Singleton is 4-for-21 with a double, two home runs and four RBI over the past 10 games.

Bobby Witt Jr. leads Kansas City with 28 home runs while slugging .609. Paul DeJong is 9-for-33 with four home runs and eight RBI over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 5-5, .266 batting average, 2.48 ERA, outscored opponents by 11 runs

Royals: 5-5, .243 batting average, 4.75 ERA, outscored by six runs

INJURIES: Astros: J.P. France: 60-Day IL (undisclosed), Kyle Tucker: 60-Day IL (shin), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (forearm), Jose Urquidy: 60-Day IL (forearm), Oliver Ortega: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)

Royals: Vinnie Pasquantino: 10-Day IL (thumb), Lucas Erceg: day-to-day (hand), Michael Lorenzen: 15-Day IL (hamstring), Will Smith: 15-Day IL (back), Hunter Renfroe: 10-Day IL (hamstring), Hunter Harvey: 15-Day IL (back), Dan Altavilla: 60-Day IL (oblique), Josh Taylor: 60-Day IL (biceps), Kyle Wright: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.