Astros host the Royals, aim to extend home win streak

Kansas City Royals (29-50, fifth in the AL Central) vs. Houston Astros (53-27, first in the AL West)

Houston; Wednesday, 8:10 p.m. EDT

PITCHING PROBABLES: Royals: Brad Keller (3-9, 4.24 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 56 strikeouts); Astros: Cristian Javier (6-3, 2.58 ERA, .96 WHIP, 95 strikeouts)

FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -272, Royals +222; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros, on a nine-game home winning streak, host the Kansas City Royals.

Houston has gone 26-11 in home games and 53-27 overall. The Astros are 30-2 in games when they scored at least five runs.

Kansas City is 29-50 overall and 15-25 in road games. The Royals have the seventh-ranked team batting average in the AL at .240.

The matchup Wednesday is the sixth time these teams square off this season. The Astros hold a 4-1 advantage in the season series.

TOP PERFORMERS: Yordan Alvarez has a .313 batting average to lead the Astros, and has nine doubles, two triples and 25 home runs. Jose Altuve is 11-for-36 with three home runs and five RBI over the past 10 games.

Andrew Benintendi has 12 doubles, two triples and three home runs for the Royals. MJ Melendez is 7-for-34 with a double and three home runs over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 9-1, .264 batting average, 2.30 ERA, outscored opponents by 31 runs

Royals: 3-7, .255 batting average, 5.52 ERA, outscored by 13 runs

INJURIES: Astros: Jason Castro: 10-Day IL (knee), Blake Taylor: 60-Day IL (elbow), Michael Brantley: 10-Day IL (shoulder), Josh James: 60-Day IL (lat), Parker Mushinski: 15-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (forearm)

Royals: Josh Staumont: 15-Day IL (neck), Daniel Lynch: 15-Day IL (blister), Salvador Perez: 10-Day IL (thumb), Jake Brentz: 60-Day IL (flexor), Adalberto Mondesi: 60-Day IL (knee), Tyler Zuber: 60-Day IL (shoulder)

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